Worlds Crashing Down
by castlenova
Summary: Something awful has happened in the Lightman household. Cal asks Gillian's help. Don't want to give too much away. Read for more. Rated for safety.
1. Chapter 1

Cal Lightman woke when he heard the front door closing. His eyes were bleary. He'd been staring at his laptop screen for about two hours before he'd succumbed to sleep. This was the third night in a row that he'd sat up late willing himself to write. He knew in the mornings that he looked like shit. He could see Gillian and Ria and Eli glance at him every day wondering what he'd been doing to look so rough. The fact was he simply couldn't get a handle on this latest book. Every time he tried to write he found some reason why he shouldn't say that here or there or anywhere except in his head where no one else was listening.

He'd fallen asleep shortly after 9 so he was surprised, when looking at his clock, to find that it was 12:15. He stood up and walked out into the hallway where he just caught Emily starting up the stairs to her room. He grimaced.

"And what time do you call this?" Emily didn't look at him, simply stared straight up the stairs.

"Sorry Dad, the concert ran late and the traffic was bad." Cal raised an eyebrow. She still didn't look at him. He noticed her holding her arms around her front, hugging herself where she stood. His frown deepened as he took in her words.

"It's 12:15 Em! It didn't run that late and the traffic couldn't have been that bad!" Emily still refused to look at him.

"We stopped in McDonalds. Rick was hungry. I'm sorry. I won't do it again. Or I'll call if I'm going to be late." Cal's mouth opened now. Something was definitely wrong here. She wasn't arguing with his smothering, she wasn't tying to antagonise him. If he didn't know better he'd say she was a victim of shellshock.

"Are you alright love?" This time she looked at him and he could see the bags under her eyes, the red rims where it wouldn't take a genius to know she'd been cying. Instinctively he took a step forward around to the stairs. He caught her shoulder to turn her but was shocked when she flinched and stepped out of his grasp. She turned around to face him. He looked up at her, worry crinkling across his face.

"Em?"

"Rick and I had a fight, that's all. I'm ok. I just, want to go to bed." Cal watched her face carefully. The first and third statements were true. His heart sank as he realised the second one wasn't. He took a step up the stairs and caught her shoulders but she stepped out of his reach again, flinching. Cal swallowed hard.

"Did he hurt you? Did he lay a finger on you?" His voice was rising, he knew that but Emily was shaking her head.

"No Dad, everything's fine. I'm just tired. I'm going to bed ok? Goodnight." With that she turned and bolted upstairs leaving Cal standing worried on the stairs. The gentle clicking of her room door stirred him from his reverie. He shook his head. There was no way she was 'fine'. And there was no way he was leaving her alone until he found out what was wrong.

OXOXOXO

**This story is probably going to be quite dark. Well, at the start anyway. Much darker than anything else I've done I would say. Watch this space.**


	2. Chapter 2

He knocked gently on the door and opened it despite hearing no response. Looking in, he saw Emily curled in her bed, cocooned in the foetal position, her arms wrapped up to her face. He walked over and sat down on the bed beside her. She was awake but she didn't look at him. She was staring into space. Again he got that feeling he got when meeting shellshock victims. He reached over and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and she flinched again. He bit his lip.

"Ok, love. I know something's up. And you know I'm not going to leave you alone until you tell me what it is. I won't be mad, I promise. If you don't want to tell me, I can call your Mum, she can come over." He swallowed as he finished, hoping he would get a reaction from her. If he didn't, he didn't know what other way to approach this.

"Mom's away all weekend." Her voice sounded so small.

"Will you tell _me_?" he asked.

"There's nothing to tell Dad," she said, shaking her head but still not meeting his eye. Cal winced again.

"Is it girl stuff?" he hazarded a guess. She nodded. He mirrored her action and thought about finding a way around that. He hated girl stuff. He understood how it affected those who experienced, he was just no good at it.

"What about Gillian? Would you talk to her?" Emily said nothing but Cal could see the cogs turning in her mind. She _wanted _to talk. She just didn't know how to talk to _him_ and that made him worry all the more. He watched her for long enough to gauge her response to his latest suggestion before nodding.

"I'll give her a call." As he moved to stand up, he leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead but was once again surprised as she drew back from him, tucking her arms around herself and pulling the bed covers up over her face. Cal took a deep breath and walked out of the room.

He moved into his own room where he picked up his phone and dialled. It rang seven times before finally she picked up, answering in a strained voice, biting back a yawn, he guessed.

"Cal? It's after midnight."

"I'm sorry love, did I wake you?" He grimaced at the thought of it. He hadn't wanted to disturb her. But then if something was up with Emily, she would kill him for not calling her sooner.

"I was asleep on the couch. You've spared me a backache in the morning. I can go to my actual bed now that I'm awake." Her voice strained as she stood up. Cal winced again.

"Before you do that love, would you mind coming over?"

"Now?" He tried to gauge her reaction. Surprise, disbelief, but no anger or annoyance. At least he didn't think so. But then again, she was the expert in voices not him.

"I'm sorry. I've a…bit of a situation with Em. She won't talk to me and I'm, I'll be honest Gill I'm really worried…" He swallowed as the words left his mouth. He hoped she could tell how difficult it was for him to lay himself bare like that. Even if it was just through the phone. There was a pause for a moment and Cal wondered if Gillian had fallen back to sleep.

"I'll be over in ten."

OXOXOXO

**OK. Am sure people are drawing their own conclusions by now. I seem to be on a roll with this, or at least the beginning of it so hopefully I'll have more up soon! Click that lil 'review' button down there!**


	3. Chapter 3

Cal paced as he waited. He flicked the electric kettle on and off four times. It was the longest ten minutes he'd ever experienced, and he'd had some pretty hair-raising experiences over the years. Eventually, after clicking the kettle a fifth time, he heard the knock on the door. He jogged to it. Gillian stood on the other side, jean clad with a sweater and long jacket. A pair of flip flops completed her look. He'd obviously caught her on laundry day.

"Hey, come in. You want tea?" He ushered her inside, shutting the door behind him and following her through to the kitchen. She leaned against the counter and he suddenly became aware of the fact that she hadn't said anything yet.

"Gill, I'm really sorry I dragged you over here but, she won't talk to me. Her mum's out of town. I didn't know what else to do." It scared him to think he could be so ineffective in a situation like this. He was never ineffective. Everything he did always resulted in some outcome.

"It's ok. I'm just a bit sleepy still. So what's going on?" Cal made tea and explained the situation to her. He told her about her coming home late, her apology for that fact, the fact that she and Rick had had a fight. Gillian said nothing as he spoke. She'd ask her questions at the end. Cal told her then about how she'd been when she got home, how she'd cocooned herself in her room, how she'd been doing something similar when he saw her standing on the stairs, and most of all, how she'd flinched and backed away from him when he tried to touch her. He shook his head as he finished, trying to think of anything else to tell her but there was nothing. He looked up at his business partner and best friend and tried to read her expression. It nearly broke his heart to see worry on her face. She looked at him, an unspoken thought passing between the two of them and Cal nodded his head.

"Yeah." Gillian bit her lip and reached for her tea, taking a sip of it, holding it between her hands like a comfort.

"Do you really think I should talk to her now?" Cal sat down in the chair next to hers, his body facing her.

"I think, if she's anything like her old man, it'll be best to strike while the iron is hot." Gillian nodded. She agreed. She'd seen it with him. He'd be willing to talk one minute but the next, that willingness would be gone. She took another sip of her tea and stood up.

"I'd tell you not to eavesdrop through the door but I know it wouldn't be worth my while." She gave him a brief smile and headed for the stairway. Cal took another sip of his tea before discarding it and following her.

OXOXOXO

Emily was wide awake when she heard the knock on the door. She neither moved nor spoke but couldn't help hiding a flash of relief when she saw Gillian come inside, closing the door firmly behind her. She offered herself a brief smile. That was Gillian's way of telling her dad to keep out of it.

The mattress dipped as Gillian sat into it, glancing at the girl who looked so small and young under the covers. She reached a hand out and laid it on Emily's arm. She didn't flinch this time, Gillian noticed.

"Hey." Gillian said softly. Emily didn't look up.

"Hi."

"So, your dad told me you had some trouble tonight. He said 'girl trouble', which I'm pretty sure isn't his area of expertise. You want to talk to me about it?" Emily bit her bottom lip and Gillian noticed her eyes welling up. Finally Emily nodded her head.

OXOXOXO

Cal's neck was craned to the edge of the doorway. He could just make out what was being said. He was dreading what was about to be said. He'd seen the look on Gillian's face as he told her the story. She had the look that echoed what he was thinking and, though he wasn't religious, he was praying to God that for once, both he and Gillian would be wrong.

OXOXOXO

Emily had sat up and was leaning against her head board, legs pulled up into herself, her arms wrapped around her knees. She took a deep breath and Gillian smiled kindly. Sometimes she wondered why she hadn't gone into an area like child psychology but then she thought about the effect it would have on her own psyche and was glad she hadn't.

"Rick and I went to a concert. And after it, he wanted to go meet some of his friends. I told him I had to be home or my dad would kill me. But he didn't want to go…" Emily sniffed suddenly and Gillian nodded, recognising the need to coax the young girl.

"And what happened next?"

"We argued. Both said some pretty nasty things and he told me to walk home if it was so important that I get home on time. So I did." Gillian's eyes widened and she swallowed hard. She hadn't expected that.

OXOXOXO

On the other side of the door, Cal had been all but ready to drive to Rick's house and kill him. But his daughter's statement had stunned him as well. And filled him with an even worse sense of dread.

OXOXOXO

"I walked home and I was down by that Italian restaurant Dad and I eat in sometimes. You've been there too…" Gillian nodded. _Rigoletto's. _It was about half a kilometre from Cal's house. Quite the walk in the middle of the night for a seventeen year old.

"Anyway, there's a shortcut by that restaurant so I went that way, and…" Suddenly, Emily breathed in quickly, a sob threatening to escape her and Gillian felt the tears starting to well in her own eyes. She edged closer and took the young girl in her arms. But Emily backed away.

"I'm ok. If I don't tell you all this now I won't be able to." Gillian nodded and left her hand on the young girl's arm. Emily continued, "I'd just reached the end of the road, where the streetlights go really bright, when someone grabbed me. He punched me in the stomach and pushed me up against the wall. Then he, he, you know…he raped me." Her voice had become a whisper and Gillian had to take a deep breath to stop herself from breaking down. She wondered how Cal hadn't broken down the door by now.

"Did you see him?" she asked. It was the only thing she could think of. She was already thinking about how they could find this man and make him pay. She was pretty sure Cal would kill him. Emily nodded, Gillian couldn't help but notice how well she was keeping her calm. She was probably still in shock, she countered. Gillian finally allowed a tear to trail down her face as she pulled the girl into a bone crushing hug. She felt Emily's body convulse within hers and she knew now that the young girl had succumbed to her emotions. She let her cry in her arms because right now, she really didn't know what else she could possibly do.

OXOXOXO

Cal couldn't move. He stepped away from the door when he heard the sobs of his daughter. He was the one with shell shock now. He felt his legs buckle beneath him and next thing he knew he was on the floor, his back to the wall, his knees pulled up in front of him and all he could do was stare at the opposite wall. His lips parted, he shook his head and lowered it into his hands.

OXOXOXO

**Ok, so dark content. Hopefully people don't find it too disturbing. Click review if you like, hate or whatever else.**


	4. Chapter 4

Gillian watched as Emily pulled the sheets up to her chin. She brushed the matted hair from her face and Emily smiled in appreciation. Gillian was about to stand up when Emily spoke again.

"I'm afraid Dad's going to think I'm an idiot." Gillian stared at her.

"For what?"

"For not calling him to come pick me up. For walking down a dark alley. For not telling him what was wrong…" She sniffed again and Gillian laid her hand back on the girl's arm. The comforting hand. It had done a lot for her over the years. The fact that Cal hadn't stampeded into the room yet told her it would have more to do tonight.

"Your dad loves you. And nothing that you do or didn't do would change that, you know that. And he'll understand why you couldn't tell him. Emily, this wasn't your fault. Don't ever think it was. I'm going to go talk to your dad. Get some sleep and call me at any time if you need me, ok?" Emily nodded as Gillian stood up and made her way from the room. She took one last look at the traumatised teenager before opening the door and walking out.

OXOXOXO

The sight outside Emily's door broke her heart all over again. Head in hands, shoulders tensed, Cal wasn't crying but she could tell that he was in just as catatonic a state as his daughter inside. She hunched down beside him and put a hand on his back.

"Come on Cal. Downstairs." He didn't move so she pulled at his hand. He obliged, standing up next to her. She looked at him. His eyes were dead. He looked, he looked as though his world had crashed down around him. She guessed that for him, it kind of had. She laced her fingers through his and lead him down the stairs back into the sitting room where she put him sitting on the couch while she went about making fresh tea.

Once it had brewed, she made two cups and brought them through to the sitting room, laying one down in front of him. She sat down next to him. They basked in uncomfortable silence for a moment before Gillian broke it.

"Talk to me Cal." He looked at her.

"I don't know what I can possibly say. I'm going to kill him. I'm going to find him and I'm going to kill him. I don't care if I go to jail for the rest of my life, I'm going to kill him…" Gillian laid a hand down on his and squeezed it tightly.

"She said she saw his face. I'll contact Reynolds in the morning. You need to call Zoe," she said quietly and Cal ran his hands over his face, shaking his head.

"How do I even begin to tell anyone this Gill? How do I process it? She's my whole world…" Gillian saw that look in his eye, that look of self-loathing and she immediately jumped on it.

"Cal, you need to stay calm. You can't blame yourself for this…"

"Bloody right I blame myself! I blame myself for not being a smothering parent who insists on driving his kids everywhere, I blame myself for pushing her to such an extent that she won't even call me because she thinks I'll use it against her in the future. Of course I blame myself Gill, who else am I going to blame?" Gillian swallowed and took a sip of her tea. Suddenly he stood up and moved to the doorway in the hall. She bolted after him.

"Cal, leave her alone. Let her sleep. You can't do anything tonight…" she said, grabbing his arm. He slipped out her grasp pretty easily.

"Bloody right I can't. I'm going to go find him…" Gillian's jaw dropped.

"You don't even know what he looks like! Cal, come back here. There are more important things to do right now than to go driving the streets looking for trouble. Listen to me! You need to call Zoe and tell her what's happened. Then you need to sit down and talk to me and think about what you have to do _for Emily._ Not to make you feel better. I know you'd like nothing better than to beat him to a pulp. I would too. But there's things closer to home right now that need your attention." Gillian was quite sure her raised voice would have woken Emily. She felt bad about that but the look that crossed Cal's face convinced her that it was worth it. He pulled her into a tight hug.

"Thank you," he said in a strained voice.

"It's ok." He pulled back from her.

"No. Honestly. Thank you. " She nodded and lead him back into the kitchen. He picked up the cordless phone and looked at her. She nodded. He took a deep breath and dialled.

OXOXOXO

**Slow going I know but it is going somewhere I promise.**


	5. Chapter 5

Zoe contemplated hitting the silence button and going back to sleep but if Cal was ringing her at one in the morning despite knowing she was out of town something had to be up. She pulled the phone to her ear and pressed the green button.

"Cal, it's 1am. This can't be good." She frowned when he didn't respond. "Cal? Cal, what's wrong?"

"You need to get the first flight you can back here." Zoe frowned and a feeling of primal fear ripped through her insides.

"Why? What's happened?" She was already swinging her legs out of the bed, switching on the bedside light as she did.

"It's Emily." The sentence made her want to throw up.

"What's happened?" Another silence. Another pause. Another agonising wait for information from a man usually so quick to tell her all her flaws and mistakes. Something was very wrong that it had silenced him. The choked voice that spoke next sounded so broken she couldn't believe it was her ex-husband's.

"She's been raped."

OXOXOXO

Gillian took the phone from Cal as finally he broke down. He collapsed into the armchair next to him and brought his hands to his face. Gillian watched his shoulders shaking and she put a hand on one of them as she raised the phone to her ear. Zoe was frantic on the other end of the line.

"Zoe?" Silence for a moment.

"Gillian? Where's he gone? Put him back on. What's happened?" Gillian took a look down at Cal and stepped away from him into the kitchen.

"He's…distraught. I know I'm probably the last person you want to talk to…" She heard the violent intake of breath at the end of the line and prepared herself for an ear-wigging.

"I don't care who I talk to, just tell me what happened!" Gillian nodded to herself and began to fill Cal's ex-wife in on the details.

OXOXOXO

Cal had regained his composure when she returned to the sitting room, handing him the cordless. He took it and smiled at her, grateful.

"Thanks for that. Sorry I landed you in it." Gillian shook her head.

"It's ok. Anything I can do to help, you know that." He smiled at her as he stood up. He rubbed his hands over his face. Suddenly he felt very tired.

"What now?" he asked. He was glad Gillian was there. He could do with a psychologist's brain on this one. A proper psychologist that is. When he thought about it he realised he knew nothing whatsoever of what Emily was going through, he was just struggling with his own patriarchal guilt and anger. Gillian moved over to the couch. He followed her, crashing down beside her, unable to sit still but likewise unable to move from fatigue. He was drifting, somewhere in between the two.

"You should file a police report in the morning. Get a doctor's appointment. Organise a councillor. Maybe Ben can have a sketch artist work with Emily to try and get a decent likeness of the man that did it. I won't lie to you Cal, tomorrow's going to be really tough on you. Zoe'll be back and she'll be just as distraught as you. Emily's going to be coming around to the idea of what happened…" she trailed off when she saw Cal's face contorting into one of dread and torment. She reached across and put her hand on his shoulder. "I'll be here. Right here the whole time, if you want me to be." He nodded his head both in understanding and as an answer to her offer. He not only needed her there, he wanted her there.

They sat in silence for a moment before Cal spoke.

"I don't know if I'm going to be able to do this Gill. I don't know if I'm going to be able to hold it all together…" Gillian felt her heart strings tugging. She edged closer to him and slipped her arms around him, letting his arm drape down around her shoulders. She kissed his forehead softly.

"I'm here. What do you need, Cal?" He pulled back from her slightly, his hand at the back of her head, twirling a lock of her hair around his finger absently.

"I need you to have time-travel abilities." Gillian chuckled at this and shook her head.

"Sorry Cal, still haven't mastered that one." He nodded, a think smile reaching his face but not his eyes.

"I need to sleep," he said finally. Gillian nodded and went to stand up but he caught her hand in his.

"Stay?" he asked but his eyes pleaded and she found herself nodding her head with no hesitation whatsoever.

"Sure." She pulled him to his feet and allowed him to lead the way.

OXOXOXO

**Soon…things will start progressing plotwise. Hit that review button. I'm really nervous about writing this – never written this style before.**


	6. Chapter 6

Cal woke early the next morning. Though he wasn't sure, he doubted he'd actually slept a wink all night but had drifted in and out of consciousness sporadically. When he looked to his left he couldn't help but smile despite the day he had ahead of him. Gillian Foster was asleep on the corner of his shoulder. He'd, at some point, nestled her into the crook of his arm, his hand was on her elbow holding her to him. She looked peaceful, dressed in his too-big t-shirt and silk pyjama bottoms he had never used and never would.

He slowly slipped his arm out from under her, replacing it with a pillow. She stirred slightly but didn't wake as she turned into the pillow, her face neutral. Cal smirked and grabbed a pair of sweatpants from the chair behind the door and pulled them on. He took care not to walk on the squeaky floorboard as he left the room.

He deliberated as to whether he should knock. In the end he decided against it and opened the door slowly and relatively quietly.

"Em?" he whispered through the half-light. He looked in. Emily Lightman was lying in bed, eyes wide open and red. She'd been crying again. Cal moved and sat down next to her. He hesitated before putting a hand on her head, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"I'm so sorry Dad…" He frowned and looked at her.

"Hey, what's that about? You did nothing wrong. You have nothing to apologise for, do you hear me? Whoever did it, he's going to wish he was dead by the time I'm through with him. But you, you're a victim here Em. Come here." He pulled his daughter into a bear hug and let her cry on his shoulder.

"You're ok, love. Everything's going to be ok, I promise you that. Do you believe me?" Emily pulled back and nodded but he could see she didn't.

"No you don't but it's ok. I'll be with you. Your mum's on her way home. Gill's still here…" On that last note Emily looked up.

"Gillian's here?" Cal smirked. Even in such a situation, his daughter was thinking about his potential suitors. If it would make her feel better he would humour her. He gave his daughter another kiss on the forehead.

"Do you want breakfast?" Emily nodded, before pulling the covers of her bed around herself again and Cal couldn't help but think about how much of a child she looked again. He nodded his head and stood up.

"I'll call you when it's ready." With that he stood up and left, closing the door silently behind him. He took a couple of steps down the hall to look into his own room. Gillian hadn't stirred. He'd make enough for three.

OXOXOXO

Gillian woke when she heard the phone ringing somewhere to the side of her. Opening her eyes she discovered that it was Cal's phone. She picked it up and was about to answer it when she looked at the caller ID. Zoe. She glanced up at the clock in his room: 8:45. There was no way in hell she was answering his phone to his ex-wife at 8:45. She silenced the ringer and sprang from the bed. Cal must be downstairs somewhere, she thought.

Cal heard the footsteps coming down the stairs just as he'd put the last few bits into the oven. Everything was ready, he just needed to call the others. Gillian strode purposefully into the kitchen, holding his phone.

"What's wrong?"

"Zoe's calling you," she said simply, handing him the phone. He looked at her, asking why it was still ringing.

"It's 8:45 Cal, how would it look to her if _I _answered your phone at 8:45 in the morning?" He shrugged and pressed the green button. He moved away from the kitchen and Gillian suddenly got the smell. It was bacon, that much she was sure of. She could also smell coffee which at this point seemed more appealing. She'd slept like a log for the few hours she had slept and had felt almost disappointed to not find him there when she woke up this morning. But then, she reasoned with herself, he probably couldn't sleep at all for the night so he would naturally be up and doing something.

Cal came back just as she was pulling down two mugs for coffee. He sighed as he tossed the phone down on the kitchen table and watched her pour.

"Zoe's only hopping a flight now. There was fog last night and nothing would move. She'll be about two hours. Thanks," he added as she handed a cup to him. She sat down at the table and he followed suit, sitting into the seat next to hers. He didn't stay sitting for long though.

"You want some breakfast?" Gillian smiled and nodded so he delved into the oven withdrawing a plate of bacon and a bowl of scrambled eggs along with a plate load of toast. Gillian had to admit, it was the nicest looking breakfast she'd seen in an awful long time. He divvyed out generous helpings of each onto two plates and passed one to her. Then he moved from the room to the hallway to give Emily a call. Coming back, he made up a plate for her and left it back into the oven to keep warm. He sat down next to Gillian and picked at the egg on his plate.

"You should eat," she told him simply, "rather than make modern art with it". He looked at her and smiled. She'd already halved her portion of eggs. He took a bite of his own and had to admit that it was good. Gillian smiled lightly. He needed to eat, he was going to have a long day.

"What do you want to do first?" she asked quietly, sipping her coffee. He sighed and took a sip of his own.

"Police I suppose. I'll call Ben, see if he can be here too. Then I suppose, a doctor?" he looked at Gillian, an eyebrow raised, asking her if that was the right way to go about it and she nodded, placing a hand on his arm. A ghost of a smile crossed his face.

"Thank you for being here," he said, but said no more as Emily chose that moment to walk in the door. Gillian smiled. Cal stood up and took her breakfast from the oven for her. She mumbled a thanks and sat down, but she didn't start eating.

"How are you feeling today?" Gillian asked gently and Emily just nodded her head. Then, as if to emphasise her point, she picked up her fork and started to pick at her food, the same way Cal had done, she noticed. Like father, like daughter. Cal swallowed hard.

"Do you want tea?" Emily shook her head as she finally took a bite of the food in front of her. The three of them sat in silence for a moment before Cal spoke up, telling her that Zoe would be home in a few hours. Emily was quiet before she mumbled again.

"What am I going to have to do today?" she asked, both Cal and Gillian recognising the fear in her voice. Cal opened his mouth to speak but Gillian put a hand on his knee to stop him. She left it there while she spoke.

"Your dad's going to call the police and Agent Reynolds. They'll take a statement. Ben might be able to get someone to help you identify the man that, attacked you. Then you'll have to have a quick doctor's examination to make sure everything's ok. It's going to be fine Emily, you'll be fine." Emily nodded slowly. Gillian removed her hand from Cal's knee and picked up her coffee again. Emily took another couple of bites of her breakfast before standing up.

"I'm going to go get dressed," she said simply, before half bolting from the room. Gillian's guess was so she could throw up. She told Cal as much. He stood up.

"I'll go see if she's ok." He stopped at the absurdity of that sentence. Gillian saw it and stood up beside him, her hand on his arm.

"She _will _be ok Cal. She's _your_ daughter. She's got your strength…and stubbornness." He smiled at her. She returned it. Their eyes locked for a brief moment where, at any other time, they could have read each other like a book but now wasn't the time for reading.

"I'll go see if she's ok," he said finally, "and call Reynolds." Gillian nodded.

"I'm going to go home and get a change of clothes. I'll be back soon, ok?" she asked if he needed anything but he shook his head.

"Just you," he smirked. There was a hint of playfulness in his tone despite everything and Gillian allowed herself to smile.

"I'll be back soon."

OXOXOXO

**Ok, more serious stuff again next chapter I think. To all reviewing, thanks ever so!**


	7. Chapter 7

Ben Reynolds could think of a million places he would rather be going right now. A drugs bust, an armed robbery, hell, even Afghanistan, in no man's land.

But Cal Lightman had called him with some disturbing news and Gillian Foster had called almost immediately after to make sure Cal had called. So right now he was hauling a couple of technicians together to try and help Emily Lightman to make a positive ID on her attacker. It was going to be a hell of a long day.

OXOXOXO

Gillian Foster stepped out of her shower feeling a little more refreshed than she had before stepping into it. She quickly dried and brushed her hair before grabbing a pair of jeans and a sweater to wear under her coat. It was a cold day in comparison to usual.

She'd called Reynolds just before stepping into the shower and found that Cal had already gotten in contact. She'd given Ben a quick rundown of what had happened because she knew Cal wouldn't have had the heart to tell him. Then she told him she'd see him back at the house and hung up.

Now she was grabbing her keys and making sure she had everything she'd need for the day that was about to unfold.

OXOXOXO

Cal had taken a quick shower after making sure Emily was ok. He'd donned a pair of jeans but, finding his black jumper very grimy he'd withdrawn a dark grey one from the wardrobe and remembered, as he pulled it on, that Gillian had given it to him one Christmas a few years ago. Before their gifts for each other became wholly personal.

Emily too had changed into something comfortable, sweat pants, a t-shirt and a heavy jumper. It had been a long time since Cal had seen her so casual.

Cal made more coffee as he waited for the first knock on the door. Emily sat in the kitchen with him, sipping hot chocolate. Cal didn't really know what to say.

"You be sure and tell them everything alright? Any tiny little detail, it might seem stupid to you but tell them, alright?" Emily nodded her head, then sipped her hot chocolate before looking up at him again.

"Everything?" she asked meekly and Cal bit his lip. He knew what was bothering her about that. She didn't want to describe what happened to her in front of strangers but most of all she didn't want to describe it in front of him. He nodded his head.

"Tell them everything. If you don't want me to hear, I'll wait outside. Your mum can stay with you, or if she's not back, Gillian can stay with you. Whatever you want sweetheart." The kettle boiled and he poured the hot water into the mug of coffee. The smell hit him straight away and he took a minute to just breathe it in. The smell of coffee soothed him.

The knock on the door pulled him from his trance and he put his cup down to go and answer it. It was Gillian. He might have known she would be the first person back. She gave him a brief smile as she stepped inside and moved through to the kitchen, him following her. He poured coffee for her as she sat down at the kitchen table. Emily smiled in greeting but said nothing. Gillian didn't push her. Instead she turned to Cal.

"I called Ria, told her you and I would be out of the office all day today, that they were to hold the fort without us."

"She ask why?" Cal aready knew the answer to that question. Gillian nodded.

"I told her there some company issues we were delving through."

"A stone-walling 'mind your own business' then?" Cal grinned at her and she smirked, nodding.

"She knows when to back off." Cal nodded, as the there was another knock on the door. He pushed through the sitting room to answer the door. Emily mumbled under her breath.

"I don't want to do this." Gillian looked at her, reached a hand across the table onto her hand.

"You'll be fine. There'll be someone with you at all times. It'll help the police Emily. They'll catch the guy and make sure he doesn't do the same to someone else…" Gillian withdrew her hand as Cal came back into the room, followed by a distraught looking Zoe. Her eyes bypassed Gillian and fell on her daughter, warming her hands around her mug of hot chocolate and she bit her lips as she sat down next to her, pulling her into a hug. Gillian stood up to give the two some privacy. Zoe was whispering something in her daughter's ear, something indistinguishable but something Gillian appreciated that she wasn't supposed to hear. She slipped past Cal out into the living room. He followed her.

"I'll give them a minute," he said, pulling the door gently behind him. Gillian nodded. She somehow felt so much more uncomfortable now that Zoe was here. Last night she'd felt like she belonged there but today, she felt as though she'd be viewed as a busybody. She knew it was silly. She knew how everyone perceived her relationship with Cal. She was almost willing to believe that after Emily, she was the most important person in his life but she knew she'd be deluding herself. She knew she was up there but the fact was she didn't think Cal held anyone else in any kind of regard other than his daughter. She was the closest person to be nearly in that circle.

"What's going on in that head?" he asked suddenly and she shook her head.

"Nothing." She smiled briefly but he shook his head.

"You don't fool me love. What's up?" Gillian sighed and wrung her hands in together in front of her. She swallowed.

"I think maybe I should go." Cal smirked and shook his head.

"I knew it. I knew from the minute Zoe walked in you were uncomfortable." Gillian shrugged.

"It's kinda understandable Cal, your ex-wife hates me." Cal opened his mouth to speak but thought better of it. He let the statement sit for a minute before crossing the room to her.

"Alright she's not your biggest fan but that doesn't mean you have to go." She searched his eyes for some kind of contradiction to his words but couldn't find any.

"Cal, Emily's going to be fine. She has you, she has her mom now, she doesn't need me here too." Cal lowered his head, glancing at the floor for a moment. Gillian placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it lightly. She was turning to leave when Cal spoke u again.

"What if Emily's not the one who needs you?" Gillian stopped in her tracks and turned to face him slowly. He stood watching her as she tried to leave. She couldn't see a hint of deception or manipulation on his face. And come to think of it, she knew she wouldn't. Cal Lightman never admitted weakness unless he really was in need of help. Gillian smiled briefly before turning and walking back into the room, her hand once again squeezing his arm as she passed him.

OXOXOXO

**Ok, so another chapter done and dusted. Next chapter sees Reynolds and Police take Emily's statement. Haven't decided if it's going to be particularly explicit as of yet. Reviews make me happy. **


	8. Chapter 8

Reynolds and the local Police officers arrived shortly after Gillian had decided to stay where she was. Emily went very visibly white as they moved into the sitting room and sat down on the couch, notebooks in hand, tape recorders on the coffee table. Reynolds had arranged for an identification technician to join them after Emily had given a statement. Zoe sat on the other couch next to Emily while Cal took up a place on the arm of the chair. Gillian bit her lip. Her parents positioning was making Emily feel trapped and smothered. She tried to catch Cal's eye but he didn't notice. Gillian herself had situated herself on the periphery, leaning against a cabinet she knew Cal kept his scotch in.

The police began by asking who everyone in the room was. Cal said Gillian was a 'family friend' to which Gillian caught a slight look of contempt on Zoe's face but she hid it reasonably well. They began by asking Emily all of the details of the night, where she'd been, who she'd been with, how well she knew the people she was with, what time they'd left, what time she'd started walking home at. Cal suddenly had a thought.

"Did you tell Rick what happened? Did he call to see if you got home ok?" He didn't think the time appropriate to mispronounce her boyfriend's name. Emily shook her head.

"No. I haven't talked to him since last night." Cal's jaw locked.

"He didn't ring to see if his girlfriend got home ok after he let her walk?" His voice had risen slightly and Zoe glared at him.

"Hardly the time Cal," she said simply and he nodded but Gillian knew by his face that Rick would be in for a grilling later on. She couldn't say she blamed him really. The police on the couch exchanged glances before continuing.

"What happened when you walked up the alley?" Emily faltered and looked at Reynolds who held his hands up straight away and stepped straight outside the front door. Cal prepared himself for the inevitable glance up at him. It didn't come. He frowned but said nothing. Gillian swallowed. She knew Emily had left out bits in telling her what had happened. She had said nothing at the time. She knew Cal had heard what she'd said to her but wasn't sure how he'd react to hearing it first hand. Emily took a deep breath and started talking. She told them what she had told Gillian.

"…and when I got to the end of the alley, someone grabbed me by the hair. They didn't say anything; just put a hand over my mouth so I couldn't scream. I tried to push them away but his hand was big and he caught both my wrists behind my back and held them there. He told me if I screamed he'd kill me…"she bit her lip and Cal reached a hand down onto her shoulder. Both Cal and Emily swallowed hard as she continued.

"He took his hand off my mouth but I was too scared to do or say anything because I really did think he'd kill me…"

"He probably would have too." Zoe said thanking god her daughter hadn't got the recklessness of her father. Cal nodded his head in agreement. Emily took another deep breath.

"Do I have to tell you exactly what he did?" she asked quietly and the policemen looked at her, then each other. One of them bit his lip. He was uncomfortable with this; Cal reckoned he was probably fresh out of the academy. He gulped and let the older officer take the question.

"If you can just give us the details you remember. Just make sure you tell us the important stuff." Cal frowned. What the hell was the 'important stuff'? The girl had been raped, what were they looking for? Gillian caught his eye and gave him a warning look. He bit his tongue.

"He, I don't know, he didn't rip anything. He was, I don't know what you'd call it, gentle? He scared me when he told me he'd kill me, I believed him and after that he just stopped using force until…well, until he did…" Cal couldn't resist this time, he looked at the police.

"That's teenage speak for 'rape', I reckon that's an important bit." His sarcasm cut through the façade of the younger cop who gave him a sympathetic smile. The older one wasn't so appreciative. But he didn't say anything either. Gillian figured Cal was going to get a remark in somewhere so she wasn't surprised when he jumped on his opportunity.

"Emily, do you remember what he looked like? Or anything about him?" Cal held up a hand quickly.

"I want to get Reynolds back in for this bit. He's going to help on the identification." He crossed the room and opened the front door, letting Reynolds in before crossing back to his original position.

"He was tall, I don't know maybe the same height as Ben. He had dark hair. He smelled of something weird, it was like smoke but…not. I'd guess it was pot…" Cal raised an eyebrow and looked at her but said nothing, this time off Zoe's look.

"Anything else?" Emily nodded.

"Yeah, he had some kind of scar or something on his face. I punched him after he let me go and his skin felt weird. Hard or scabby or something. And he cried out so I guess it must have been a new thing for him?" Cal glanced over at Reynolds. He could see the cogs turning in his head. He'd ask him after. Gillian had spotted it too. The police leaned forward and switched off the tape.

"Is there anything else you remember?" Emily shook her head.

"I don't think so." The older cop nodded.

"If you think of anything, call us." He passed a card with the precinct number and his name over to Cal before standing up and rattling off the usual chatter of 'doing everything he could'. Cal nodded and showed the two officers to the door. Zoe gave Emily hug and kissed her forehead. Gillian moved to sit where the cops had been.

"Well done Emily. You were a lot calmer than I think I'd have been…" she smiled at the teenager and Zoe nodded her head.

"Or me." Cal came back into the sitting room and pointed at Reynolds.

"What do you know?" Reynolds sighed. He knew he was going to be pounced on straight away. He also knew Cal wouldn't like what he was going to tell him.

"I can't be sure but it sounds like a guy we pulled in for a drugs bust a couple of weeks ago. We couldn't pin it to him but a few days later he got blown up in a warehouse that one of his gang use for storage. Burnt his face up pretty bad. I've got the lab sending me through some headshots, we can see if Em recognises him." Cal nodded his head.

"What's his name?"

"Marco Gerardo. Came up to DC from Miami, him and his two brothers, want to take their daddy's business nationwide." Reynolds jumped slightly as his phone beeped.

"Well, if you know all this, how comes he's still on the street?" Cal's eyes were wide with confusion.

"We haven't been able to pin anything to him. Evidence has always been circumstantial. He seems to be one step ahead of us whenever we do try to plan a bust." Cal raised an eyebrow.

"Ever think there might be a rogue agent in your organisation?" he was goading, everyone knew. Ben had learned to ignore him at this stage. He pulled up the files sent to his phone and opened them. He walked over to Emily and held the phone down to her.

"I know it's not ideal but, is this the guy?" Emily looked at the picture carefully before nodding slowly. Ben asked her if she was sure and she nodded more forcefully this time.

"Yeah. Yeah that's him. Definitely." Reynolds nodded his head as Cal and Gillian watched Emily's face. She was indeed certain. This was the guy. Gillian didn't like the sound of his connections. Cal was bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"I want him brought to the Lightman Group," he said to Ben immediately. Ben looked up from his phone, shaking his head.

"Oh no, there's no way I can do that." Cal squared up to him, not to be messed with now.

"You bring him to my office, or the Lightman Group is no longer on call for the FBI. Understood?" Reynolds nodded and mumbled something about making a few calls to organise it. He stepped out of the room. Cal turned back to the others. Zoe looked at him, confused.

"Why do you want him at your office?" she sometimes couldn't understand the man's thinking, sometimes she knew she didn't want to. Cal raised an eyebrow as if that was a stupid question.

"Well, because I'm going to kill him, that's why."

OXOXOXO

**Ok, so very dramatic last line there, sorry – this might be too melodramatic? Thoughts? More to come soon.**


	9. Chapter 9

"Don't be so dramatic Cal." Zoe scoffed but Gillian was watching him carefully, a feeling of dread in her stomach. He _wasn't _joking and he _wasn't _being dramatic. She knew Cal Lightman, for the most part, tried to avoid violence. She also know though that when the going got tough, like it had in the past for him, he could just as easily get tough back. And she didn't like that look on his face.

"We need to bring Em to see a doctor," Zoe said then and Cal nodded, the look on his face disappearing. But Gillian was watching him. She'd have to talk to him later. But right now she was going to remove herself. No matter what Cal said she was not going to tag along to Em's doctor's appointment.

"I'll see myself out so you can get ready to go." She stood up and Cal watched her find her way across the room. As she passed, Zoe looked up.

"Gillian?" She turned to face Cal's ex-wife.

"Thanks for talking to Emily last night." She looked like she was about to say more but thought better of it and gave a brief smile instead. Gillian returned it with a nod.

"It was no problem. Good luck in the doctor's. I'm sure everything will be fine." Emily smiled up at her and she turned to leave. Cal followed her through the archway and out into the hall. Both paused at the door.

"Call me later, let me know what happens?" Gillian meant it as a demand but phrased it as a question and he nodded.

"I will." He said, his hand reaching up to tuck a stray hair behind her ear. She swallowed as he did. He hid a smirk.

"And we need to talk," she added solemnly. He tilted his head to look at her.

"About?"

"About whether you want Emily to grow up without a father or not." He frowned at her response but didn't get a chance to reply. She was out the door. She knew it would play on his mind harder and longer if it was the last thing she said to him. There'd be no point in having a discussion now. He needed to let her statement sink in. He needed to think about why she'd said that and to realise that she was right. He didn't call out, she noticed, which meant he was either angry or still in shock. She was vouching for the latter.

OXOXOXO

Cal drove to the doctor's. Zoe sat, fidgeting nervously in the front seat while Emily stared out the window in the back. No one spoke much on the way. When they got there, the doctor called them in straight away and explained the kind of tests he would do. Cal had explained the situation on the phone when he'd rang the doctor so there was no need to go through the formalities again here.

"You understand that we can't run some tests until a number of weeks after the incident." Both Cal and Zoe nodded. AIDS and HIV tests couldn't be run until the condition had had enough gestation time in the system. Cal felt his insides go cold at the thought of it. The doctor asked them both to step outside while he ran some of the tests and Zoe protested at this. She had almost worn the doctor down when Emily told her to wait outside that she would be ok. Zoe nodded and told her where she'd be if she needed her.

Outside in the corridor Zoe paced wildly. Cal stood by the doorway and watched her fretting until finally he caught her as she passed by him and shook her shoulders.

"Calm down, alright? You getting worked up's not going to help Emily." Zoe nodded her head and stepped out of his grasp. He leaned back against the wall again to wait.

"Someone should call Rick." Zoe said finally and Cal looked at her with fire in his eyes.

"Yeah, someone should. Someone should call him and tell him what happened to his girlfriend because he was too selfish to bring her home. I'll do it," he added venomously and Zoe scowled at him.

"We'll wait. Maybe Emily's spoken to him." Cal raised an eyebrow. He doubted it. That was going to be the next task of the night. Try not to take everything out on Emily's selfish bastard boyfriend. He sighed loudly and allowed himself to slide into the chair by the door. Zoe started pacing again.

OXOXOXO

It was nearly two hours later when they were pulling back into the driveway at Cal's house. As they walked inside, Emily went up to her room to gather some of her things. Cal turned to Zoe.

"Does Roger know what happened?" Zoe nodded her head.

"I called him this morning. He's disgusted, naturally." Zoe's face scrunched up, mirroring the disgust she'd just voiced. Cal nodded.

"There's no problem if she wants to stay with me another night…" he was grasping here. He wanted Emily near him after what had happened. Zoe seemed to pick up on that too. She smiled.

"Come with us and have dinner." Cal winced slightly and shook his head.

"No, no. It's fine. I just thought if, you and Roger wanted time to process it or anything…" Cal Lightman had never lied so badly in his life. He was glad Zoe didn't call him on it.

"Come over later if you want to," she said and there was no hint of anything but sincerity in her face and Cal nodded, thanking her as Emily came down the stairs, bag slung over her shoulder. She stopped on the second step, making her taller than both her parents. Cal turned to her and pulled her into a bear hug. He kissed the side of her head and held her tight.

"Call me if you want me yeah? Or if you need anything? Either of you," he added for Zoe's benefit. Emily nodded as she pulled out of his embrace.

"And call your boyfriend." Cal fixed a look on her and she nodded her head. She knew she'd have to do it, she just really didn't know how to. Cal saw that on her face.

"Get him to come over, might be easier. Your mum can help you out." Zoe nodded behind him and Emily bowed her head.

"Ok." Cal smiled and kissed her again.

"Love you Em." A stray tear streaked down the teenagers face as she clung to his shirt.

"Love you too Dad." She broke out of his hold and moved to the door, opening it impatiently. Cal nodded to Zoe, a silent 'if you need anything' kind of nod. Then he leaned in and kissed her cheek before watching she and Emily walk out the door to her car. He watched from the doorway until they were safely buckled into the car and driving away. He was suddenly aware of everything and one on the streets. He was about to step inside and close the door when something else struck him. He reached inside, grabbed his jacket and his car keys before pulling the door shut behind him.

OXOXOXO

Gillian Foster knew the knock was coming before it came. She knew it was coming at some point. It wouldn't be a phone call because he wasn't as good at reading voices as she was. She gave a brief glance through the peephole before opening the door wide to let him in. He frowned. She'd been expecting him. Well of course she had, she'd dropped a bomb on him earlier today, of course she'd be expecting him to come by. He strode in past her into her living room, balancing on the balls of his heels, unable to stand still. She came into the room and stood by the doorway waiting.

"Care to elaborate on that remark you made earlier?" he finally said. She pushed herself off the doorframe she was leaning on and walked into the middle of the room, closer to him.

"I saw the look in your eye Cal. I saw it."

"It was a figure of speech."

"No Cal, it wasn't. And that's what really scares me. I can't blame you for feeling that way. I can't blame you for wanting to kill this man, I really can't. But Cal, it's not the way and you know that." Cal swallowed hard. For the second time in as many days he had the feeling that he'd just been stripped bare by Gillian Foster. She was right of course. She always was. He shook his head.

"I can't stand by Gill…" Gillian stepped into him and put her hands on his arms by his elbows.

"I know it's not easy Cal but, for this, you have to. If you go in there and do something stupid you risk not only letting this guy get away with what he did but you risk putting you and your family in real danger. Cal, this guy is a criminal; he could probably have you killed if he wanted to…"

"Yeah I'd like to see him try." Cal sounded so juvenile he almost kicked himself. Gillian did. Mentally.

"Cal, grow up. Seriously. You have to think about Emily here, not your own instant gratification. There's only one way to do this Cal and that's properly, however slow it is." Silence hung in the air for a long while before Cal finally nodded, collapsing down on Gillian's sofa, rubbing his hands over his face.

"I need a drink," he said suddenly and Gillian smiled.

"Scotch?"

"Like music to my ears," he replied.

OXOXOXO

**Ok, so a longer chapter this time. Hopefully I'm keeping you all amused. Thanks to all for reviewing – you guys are awesome! Keep pushing that button…**


	10. Chapter 10

Cal Lightman felt bad. It was two hours after he'd come to Gillian's house and he was now sitting on her couch, having consumed close enough to half a bottle of scotch while Gillian had consumed the other half. His insides felt heavy and restricted. Maybe he was, for the first time since his teenage years, about to throw up from binge drinking.

"I feel like the world's worst dad," he said suddenly. Gillian was perched on the couch next to him, her legs tucked under herself. She wasn't used to drinking quite so much but she found that a serious conversation always had the ability to sober her up.

"Why?"

Cal shifted in his seat so he was facing her. Well up in her personal space, as always. He held his hands up to emphasise.

"Because, she's sat in her mum's house, probably scared, probably listening to all sorts of rubbish and scare stories from the other two….and I'm sat here drunk. What's that about?" Gillian took a sip of her whisky before putting it down on the table, wavering slightly as she leaned. He reached and caught her shoulders to steady her.

"Cal, you're not a bad father, my god you don't even come close…" Cal winced at that but didn't elaborate. Gillian didn't talk much about her relationship with her dad but the throwaway remarks made Cal so curious sometimes that it hurt. He knew they had a strained relationship and he knew Gillian carried the weight of that around with her. She never let anyone else in.

"She needs her mom at a time like this Cal. And this, this is a pretty standard way of dealing with something like this. No one would begrudge you Cal, you've had a couple of very tough days. What would you be doing if you weren't here right now?" she asked pointedly. He shrugged.

"Probably exactly the same thing just at home." He reached for the bottle and refilled both glasses again.

"On your own." Gillian said softly. It was neither an accusation or an expression of sympathy. It was just a statement. A true one. But one that was loaded with something Cal couldn't quite explain in his inebriation. He turned his head to look at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Blimey, you're one to make a man feel good about himself, aren't you?" He laughed and she giggled in response, replaying what she'd said in her head.

"I didn't mean it like that…" she started but he cut her off.

"It's alright, I understand. You see me as Billy-no-mates…" Cal feigned upset and Gillian punched his arm lightly.

"What I meant was, I'm glad you're here and not at home. You shouldn't go through this alone and you definitely shouldn't drink alone with thoughts of it on your mind." She took another sip of her drink, her eyes locking on him for a moment before glancing away again. He smirked.

"So you're saying I should drink with my shrink?" Gillian chuckled again.

"That rhymes. Drink with my shrink…but yeah, I guess that's technically what I am saying. Plus, I've got good scotch." She swirled around in her glass and raised her eyebrows at him. He smiled back and nodded.

"Yes you do. It's damn good scotch." He downed the last of what he had in his glass and made an attempt to stand up. He succeeded only in losing his balance and plonking back down on the sofa, causing Gillian to bounce slightly and lose some of her scotch, onto the knee of her jeans.

"Hey!" Cal grinned, his hand automatically finding the wet spot on the knee of her jeans.

"Sorry love. Your coffee table tried to trip me up…" Gillian scoffed at this before realising his thumb was rubbing circles on the scotch covered spot on her jeans. She swallowed but said nothing. There was complete silence for a moment before Cal seemed to come back to himself.

"I should go home," he said simply.

"You can't drive," she said quickly. He checked his watch and shrugged. Gillian shook her head. This is why she felt happier that Cal had drank here with her. In any normal circumstances, after any normal booze up, Cal would still know that taxis were the only way to go. But his head was all over the place and she knew now from the shrug that he was in no fit state to be let outside the door on his own. He was a hazard to himself and to others.

"Oh no you don't. Give me your car keys." He groaned and began to protest. She reached across him and tried his jacket pockets. He hadn't taken it off when he came in. He tried timidly to push her away but she checked both pockets. They weren't there. She looked at him.

"Where are they?" His eyebrows raised and his eyes sparkled.

"I don't know. You'll have to…explore." The words rolled off his tongue and Gillian, though she wasn't quite as drunk as he, couldn't help but notice the look in his eyes. Oh boy. She glanced down at his jeans pocket. There was a bulge in both – one looked like a wallet. The other looked more promising.

"Give me them." She tried to put on her best unamused tone. He shook his head like a bold child.

"Get them yourself." She sighed in annoyance and reached across, slipping her hand into his pocket and pulling the keys out. She couldn't help but notice the heat he was radiating through his jeans. He was like an oven. Then again, she distinctly remembered being toasty warm in his bed last night but couldn't be sure if it was him or the house because she woke up alone.

"I think you lingered a little there. Reckon I could sue for sexual harassment…" he said cheekily and Gillian shook her head. The Lightman Charm. The ruination of many a woman before her.

"In your dreams," she replied quickly and he chuckled loudly as he caught the hand his keys were in. She looked back at him and he raised an eyebrow.

"You have _no_ idea, love." Gillian swallowed hard again, standing up, he stood with her.

"I think we've both had quite enough to drink, it makes for silly conversation…" she said coyly, still aware of his hand around her wrist. He shrugged a shoulder.

"On the contrary darling, I think it's the most honest we've been with each other in a long time. Or at least most honest _I've _been anyway…" he added and she tilted her head at this, getting soberer by the second she would argue.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." Cal backed off but didn't let go of her hand. She looked at him, head tilted.

"No, go on. Say what you were thinking," she challenged him. She knew it would be the only way to get him to talk. She saw the glimmer in his eyes. He couldn't resist. He brought his free hand up between them.

"I'm glad I'm here tonight with you. I'm glad I'm not at home because I would do something stupid, I know I would. Bloody hell I might still do something stupid here but, I'm with you so…it doesn't seem so bad. That's me, being brutally honest with you, or as honest as I know how. Your turn." She smirked. He returned the challenge. That was so, _him_. She was about to speak when something he said struck her.

"I…what do you mean you might still do something stupid?" Cal shrugged but she felt his hand on her wrist tugging her very lightly closer to him. She swallowed a small and gave him a quizzical look.

"How stupid are we talking here?" she asked, a hint of amusement in her voice. Maybe she was drunker than she originally thought. He looked at her and smirk.

"Potentially disastrous." She swallowed hard and moved to step away from him but he stopped her. His other hand landed on her arm pulling her back to him.

"Gill, you know that after Emily, you're the most important person in my life, don't you? I mean, God knows what I'd have done by now if you hadn't been around." Gillian shook her head and a lock of hair fell across her face.

"Cal, I've told you before…" She froze when he reached up and pushed the lock of her hair out of her face, behind her ear. She swallowed again. He sighed and looked back at her, his hand still on her neck.

"What were you saying?" he asked and she shook her head.

"I can't remember. Doesn't matter. I'm, I'm going to go to bed." She disentangled herself from Cal's arms and walked toward the archway to the stairs. Cal nodded his head. He knew where the spare room was.

"Goodnight," he said softly. She smiled, tucking his car keys into her jeans pocket. He heard her stocking feet padding up the stairs and he sat back into the sofa, sighing to himself. He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialled Emily's number without checking the time. She picked up after three rings.

"Alright love? I wake you?" he said when she did.

"No, I can't sleep."

"I hear you. Did you talk to Rick?" Silence. He pushed again. "Emily?"

"He put his hand through a pane of glass. Roger had to bring him to hospital." If the situation wasn't so serious he'd have laughed. He understood that exhibitionistic show of anger too well. He still did it sometimes.

"Did he feel bad about leaving you on your own?"

"Of course he did Dad."

"That's alright then. Well I just called to see if you were ok. I'll talk to you tomorrow ok? Goodnight." He added when she responded. He hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket. Then groaning he pulled himself to his feet and headed for the stairs.

OXOXOXO

**A bit teasing? Yes, yes it is. Sorry this chapter took a while to appear. The next one may be as long but hopefully not. Enjoy an review!**


	11. Chapter 11

Cal couldn't sleep. He usually slept like a log after scotch. But tonight he couldn't. He supposed it was only natural after the few days he'd had. He couldn't imagine it getting easier though. He tossed and turned in the bed in the spare room for a while before sitting up and shaking his head. It was no good. He stepped out of the bed and made his way to the door, grabbing his t-shirt as he passed the chair and pulling it on.

He padded down the stairs in his bar feet as quietly as possible and made his way to the kitchen. He flicked the switch on the kettle and proceeded to take a mug and a tea bag from where he knew they were kept. He sat down, his head in his hands, and yawned. It was just after three o'clock in the morning. He should definitely be asleep right now. He wondered if Gillian had any sleeping pills. He stood up as the kettle boiled and poured the water into his cup. Then he moved to the cupboard that he knew Gillian kept her first aid kit in. Maybe she kept pills and stuff in it as well. He was sifting through the contents when he heard her voice behind him.

"Cal? What are you looking for?" He grimaced and closed the door over, turning to face her.

"I can't sleep," he said simply. She nodded.

"I don't have any sleeping pills. I don't use them. Sorry." He nodded his head.

"It's alright love. Probably wouldn't have helped anyway." He turned and picked up his cup, signalling to her to ask if she wanted one but she shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself. She'd come down just in her pyjamas but the evenings had gotten chilly now so she was feeling the cold without her dressing gown. He noticed.

"You should go back to bed love. I'm fine." She stepped into the kitchen and sat down next to him, shaking her head.

"I can't really sleep either,," she said quickly. He chuckled.

"We're a pair, aren't we?" He sipped his tea, savouring the warmth of it, coursing through him. The heat was nice. The pair sat in silence for a long time but it wasn't uncomfortable. Eventually Gillian spoke as she stood up, reaching her hand down to him.

"Come to bed." Cal looked at her hand, then at her, then back to the hand again. He looked at her again.

"Eh?" She smirked and grabbed his arm, pulling him from the chair.

"Come on."

OXOXOXO

Cal knew he'd flited earlier on. He knew they both had teased a bit but now that he was being lead to Gillian Foster's bedroom, he really didn't know what to think anymore. He soon relaxed though when Gillian walked across and climbed into the bed, pulling the covers over her, clearly freezing. He swallowed hard before walking to the other side and climbing under the covers. She turned to face him.

"Do you want to know something crazy?" she asked softly, crunching her toes up into the balls of her feet. They were cold and she hated having cold feet. Cal simply looked at her, encouraging her to continue through the smirk that ghosted across his face and the crinkle in his eyes. Gillian understood him.

"You're worried about how Emily will recover from this. I'm more worried about how you will. Or if you will," she added softly, not wanting him to think she was ganging up on him or suggesting he was weak. He swallowed hard.

"What do I have to recover from?" He grimaced the minute he said it. It sounded so stupid. And cold. He closed his eyes. Gillian continued.

"She's your baby girl Cal. You, for want of a better phrase, have attachment issues. You've always had trouble letting her go. Now I'm worried that you'll never be able to. That you'll always blame yourself for this and that, in time, will drive a wedge between the two of you." Cal's eyes shot open. He looked at her for a moment before sitting up and rubbing his face.

"Jesus Christ Gill, that's a bit much at this hour isn't it? Couldn't you have saved attacking me until the morning?" She could hear the annoyance in his voice. Her truth had hit him where it hurt.

"I'm not attacking you Cal, I'm just being honest. I'm worried about you…"

"My daughter was raped Gill. Yesterday. What do you think, that I should be singing happy songs and have forgotten all about it by now?" His tone had risen substantially. Gillian sat up next to him.

"No Cal, I'm not saying that…"

"Then what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I know you Cal. I know the way your mind works. I know that this is going to eat away at you for as long as you let it. And I know that while it does, you can't function. That's why I'm worried. As dramatic as this may sound, I'm worried that this is going to kill you, Cal. I've never seen you like this. I've never seen you so broken. And I'm not saying that you shouldn't be. It just scares me, that's all." Cal sighed deeply and pushed himself back so that he was leaning against the headboard of her bed. She turned to look at him. His face was a picture of discomfort, fear and sadness. He looked at her, opening his mouth to speak then shutting it again. Finally he spoke.

"You don't know me as well as you think you do Gill. I've gotten over some pretty fucked up stuff in my time. Granted this may just about top them all. But I've still been here before. And got through it…" Gillian winced and moved to speak.

"Cal…"

"No Gill. I know what you're saying. I know you're worried. I know you think the time's right for me to crack. Maybe it is and maybe I will, who knows? But I've always got through these things before. I don't see any reason why I won't now. If she can do it I can do it. We can be each other's crutch." He smiled sadly and shrugged. Gillian nodded her head slowly before looking up at him again.

"You know you've always got a spare crutch right?" She caught his eye as he looked up and he smiled at her.

"Yeah love, I know that. But sometimes I can't bear the weight I put on it…" She heard the remorse in her voice and moved her hand to rest on his knee where his arms were draped. He looked at her and saw the support in hre face. She smiled briefly and he nodded before she slid back down under the covers. Sighing lightly, Cal followed suit.

He lay awake for a long while, until he heard her breathing even out. Then, without hesitation, he turned and draped a long protective arm across her, nestling his face into the back of her hair. The smell of her shampoo sent him to sleep.

**OXOXOXO**

**Ok so this chapter took a while to come about. Dr Callian, I'm sorry you're finding this such tough reading! Thanks to all who are reviewing, they make me happy. Mostly. **


	12. Chapter 12

Cal got the phone call early the next morning. Or at least, he got word. He'd left his own phone in Gillian's spare room which resulted in Reynolds calling Gillian's phone. Cal had taken the phone when he'd heard Gillian say who it was and was met with a somewhat taken about FBI agent.

"Lightman?"

"No, it's the fairy godmother, you twat. What's going on?" Reynolds was silent for a moment and Gillian could tell Cal was starting to lose his patience.

"What are _you_ doing answering Dr Foster's phone?" Reynolds said in an accusatory tone. Cal lost his temper properly.

"Do you want me to give you a kicking? Stop messing me around." Gillian grimaced as Cal swung his legs out of the bed and moved toward the doorway. Gillian watched as he paced, obviously remembering that he wasn't speaking on his own phone. She stepped from the bed and moved to her wardrobe picking out what she was going to wear for work. She pulled a black dress and a red one from the wardrobe, laying them across the bed. It was her morning ritual; it didn't bother her that Cal was going to see it. She kept glancing through the wardrobe until she heard Cal hang up on Reynolds.

"Marco Gerardo will be in our office at 11:30. According to Reynolds, we're getting an hour with him before the FBI take him away, tell him to stop being a bad boy and send him off with a lollipop." Gillian smirked and nodded. Cal glanced to see what she was doing. He spotted the dresses on the bed. A blue and dark green had joined the black and red since she had begun looking. He'd seen them all on her already, he was just racking his brains to remember which one she looked hottest in. He was drawing a blank. She could wear a bin bag and he'd still drool over her.

"Cal?" He snapped out of it.

"What?"

"You should probably go get dressed." Cal nodded his head before glancing back at the bed.

"You haven't worn that green one in a while, have you?" He shrugged before dropping her phone on her pillow and heading out the door. Gillian smirked and picked up the green dress.

OXOXOXO

Cal went home to get changed and grab a shower. He yelled a goodbye to Gillian through her door telling her he'd see her later. It felt strange that it was the second day in the row one of them had had to go home to change. Anyone who knew them would argue they were a couple without the physicality and he was starting to see it over the last two days. They really did rely on each other. He'd shared her bed last night even though she had a spare room made up for him.

His mind cleared of any thoughts other than Emily as he stepped into the elevator in the parking lot of the office. He'd phoned Zoe on the way in and told her what was happening. She was, of course, insisting that she was coming in. She was bringing Emily to make sure that she gave a positive ID. Cal wasn't sure he liked that idea but could see the sense behind it.

As he stepped out of the lift on his floor, he made his way to his office, a sense of purpose in his step. He passed through the office into his study and dipped down to his safe, unlocking it swiftly and looking inside.

OXOXOXO

Emily Lightman was nervous. More nervous than she had been telling the police what had happened. This was totally different. She knew that Marco wouldn't be able to see her. And she knew Ben would make sure that they wouldn't be within 100 feet of one another. And if all came to all, she knew her dad (and possibly her mom) would kill him if he did manage to get near her. But it still didn't make her feel any less apprehensive about what was to come. She was sitting in the passenger seat of her mother's car. Neither of them spoke. Zoe glanced worriedly at her daughter every so often but knew that loading her with information and detail would only freak her out even more.

As they pulled into the parking lot, Emily unbuckled her seat belt and stepped from the car. She was ready to just get this over and done with.

OXOXOXO

Cal sat in the chair in his office, feet on the corner of the desk, hands beneath his chin, thinking. He hadn't moved in more than ten minutes. He didn't even notice when Gillian walked into the room. She had to wave a hand in front of his face to bring him back to reality. He jumped and looked up at her. He noticed she'd gone with the black dress. He smirked but said nothing.

"Reynolds is here," she said simply. He nodded as she perched herself on the edge of his desk. He sighed deeply.

"What about Marco?"

"Being brought into the Cube now." Cal nodded his head and swung his legs off the desk, standing up. Gillian stopped him with a hand on his chest.

"If you think you're going to lose it, just get out. Ok?" He nodded solemnly and pushed past her out the door, running into his daughter and ex-wife as he did. Gillian followed out into the hallway. Cal looked around at the three women and nodded.

"Right. Follow me. All of you." He strode purposefully down the hall and typed in the code for the Cube. He popped his head in the doorway and yelped at Loker.

"Oi? Make sure whoever's in there can't see out. Got it?" Loker nodded slowly.

"Done. Who's the guy in it?" Cal ignored him and opened the door letting the others in by him. Loker's eyebrows raised even further when he saw Emily and Zoe come in. Torres followed in behind and also double took when she saw the gathering in the room.

"What, is it family day?" she asked and Loker glared at her. Cal turned, a dangerous look on his face.

"You here to work or you to make smart comments? If it's the second one, sod off." Torres swallowed and moved away to her desk, keeping her head down. Gillian bit her bottom lip. This was going to be the tone for the morning. Cal glanced over at Emily who was standing by the Cube, looking in. Her eyes were wide. He moved to her.

"Is that him darling?" Emily nodded her head.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure. It's definitely him. I'm not, I'm not going to have to go in there or anything, am I?" Cal shook his head vigorously.

"No, no way. I'm going in there, not you." Emily looked at him.

"Dad, don't do anything stupid." Cal frowned.

"Like what?" She looked at him, raised her eyebrows. He nodded his head and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I won't. I promise." He kissed her forehead and moved away to talk to Reynolds who'd just come in the door.

OXOXOXO

Cal watched the man in the Cube. He jumped when he felt Gillian's hand on his shoulder.

"You ok?" she asked and he nodded. He turned to look at her, swallowing. He glanced at Emily.

"I want her out of here. I don't want her hearing this." Gillian raised an eyebrow but nodded in understanding. She turned just as Heidi was passing by Loker, heading for the doorway. She called her and spoke briefly to her for a moment. Cal saw Heidi nod and Gillian call Emily over. Zoe watched and looked over at him. He shook his head and turned, heading for the Cube door, before anyone got the chance to say anything else to him.

He sealed the door as he stepped inside. Marco looked up, shrugged and stared blankly at him. His face was evn more burnt looking in this light. The left hand side of his face looked like a melted mannequin. He'd obviously got a bad burning in that explosion. Cal pursed his lips as he walked to the table.

"Alright mate? Let's have a chat eh?"

OXOXOXO

**Ok, so now we're getting to the heart of the the matter. Hope I still have everyone. Reviews are my friends.**


	13. Chapter 13

"Who is this guy?" Torres asked as they watched Cal sit down at the table opposite Marco, lokoing a lot more menacing than usual. She'd seen it straight away. Something was seriously wrong here. And she knew that for certain when no one answered her. She shrugged and sat down to watch the video footage. She didn't notice Gillian taking a deep breath beside her and casting a warning glance across the room at Ben.

OXOXOXO

Cal felt every vein in his body ready to explode. He knew he had to keep the cool, knew he had to take it easy at the start.

"What you doing here then?" he asked nonchalantly. Marco shrugged.

"FBI got it in for me." He thrust his head upwards and Cal smiked.

"Oh yeah? What you do?" Marco frowned and tilted his head.

"You tell me." He was sceptical Cal saw. He returned with a shrug.

"I don't know, I don't work for the FBI. They just asked me to do a psyche profile. I don't really care what you did." If Marco had been a deception expert he'd have seen Cal's jaw tense at this last phrase.

"So what do you want to know?" Marco asked, his responses less strained now. Cal had convinced him pretty easily that he was nothing more than a pencil-pusher. He hesitated for a moment, sniffed absently and looked around him before looking back, shrugging.

"What makes you tick? Is it drugs?" Marco's mouth twitched in affirmative but he didn't answer and Cal was careful not to show that he'd acknowledged the movement.

"Alcohol?" Again Marco's mouth twitched. Cal sat back in his chair, faking exasperation.

"Oh come on, there's got to be something. Girls?" Marco chuckled to himself and Cal tilted his head.

"Who doesn't like girls, man?" Cal fought his desire to punch the man and instead pulled his face into a smile and chuckled.

"Yeah, you're right. So what kind of girls? You like them young?" Marco's smile widened but he said nothing. Cal nodded his head and pushed the nauseous feeling in his stomach aside before leaning forward, elbow resting on the table, getting right up in Marco's face but making it look intentional as his voice quietened on the next sentence.

"There's something about them when they're a bit innocent isn't there? Something more…satisfying. I mean, I shouldn't be saying this to you, I could lose my job but….yeah." he nodded his head, hoping Marco could pick up on what his 'yeah' meant. He fought his face into a grin which Marco mirrored. Cal nodded. He was getting somewhere.

OXOXOXO

Gillian took a deep breath. So far so good. The rest of the room, apart from Zoe was still confused though. Gillian half wished Cal had removed Zoe as well. She knew what was coming. Zoe would be shocked.

OXOXOXO

Cal reached into his pocket and withdrew a stack of about four photographs. He laid the top one on the table. They were random photographs he'd found on the internet. Except for one. He watched Marco's facial expressions as he laid out the photographs. He watched as his expression illuminated when Cal put down the final photograph. One of Emily. He watched Marco's face before speaking.

"Yeah, it'd be door number four for me as well. She's, well she's a darling ain't she? Real look of a 'never been kissed, ready to learn it all' little girl." Cal swallowed hard again. If he didn't get sick now, he never would.

OXOXOXO

Torres' eyes widened as she watched the scene play out.

"Oh my God. That picture's…Emily." Gillian swallowed, knowing Torres had figured out what was happening by now. She stole a glance at Zoe.

"I've never heard him speak like that before." Zoe said quietly. Gillian bit her lip.

"It's not him. He's trying to connect with him, lull him into security. If you could see his face properly, you'd see that it's killing him." Zoe glanced at Gillian before turning her attentions back to the Cube. Torres had gone pale.

OXOXOXO

Marco had come out of his shell since Cal's comments about Emily. Cal had finished talking. He'd said as much as he was going to say. Marco had started talking now, Cal was going to let him talk himself into trouble.

"It's white girls I think. They're wholesome. Catholic. Nice tight asses, you know?" He looked up at Cal for some recognition and Cal nodded.

"And they're so easy to keep quiet. You tell them you'll kill them and bam, that's it, they shut up." Cal was starting to lose the cool.

"You know this is all being recorded right?" Marco shrugged.

"So? I haven't said anything the FBI can use against me." Cal nodded his head and gathered up the pictures on the table, standing up. He stopped at Emily's picture and left it in the middle of the table.

"You notice anything about that picture?" Marco looked at it and shook his head. Cal raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing at all?" Marco looked again.

"What's to notice? It's only half a picture." Cal nodded his head, stepping aside from his chair, standing as tall as he possibly could. He took a deep breath.

"You ever think about who might be in the other half of that picture?" Cal asked casually, not wanting to give anything away yet. This guy really was an idiot. He probably wouldn't figure it out until Cal spelt it for him. Marco shrugged.

"Boyfriend, mother, dad…" Cal pointed at the 'dad' comment.

"Third time lucky. Her dad," he said as he reached his hand into his pocket and withdrew the second half of the photograph, placing it down next to the first piece. Marco looked at for a moment before looking up at Cal, a new emotion on his face. Fear. Cal leaned down close to his face.

"In what twisted reality, did you think it was ok to rape my 17 year old daughter?"

OXOXOXO

**Phew, hope people are still with me and the tension building of this chapter worked for people. There will most likely be some violence in the next chapter. You have been warned. Please review.**


	14. Chapter 14

The analysis room was plunged into silence. Gillian waited for the inevitable shocked comment. It didn't surprise her that it was Torres.

"No wonder he's been in a mood. I hope he kills him." Gillian frowned and glared at Torres. She couldn't help thinking sometimes that she was looking at a female version of Lightman with a slight few more morals.

"That'll help nobody," Gillian said quickly.

"I don't know about that." Zoe said through gritted teeth. Gillian smiled in understand but offered no remark. She turned her head back to the Cube.

OXOXOXO

"I thought you said…" Marco was stuttering. He was much tenser now that Cal was standing over him.

"I lied." Cal said quickly, walking around the table, standing behind Marco who turned to look over his shoulder at him. He seemed a lot more nervous now. Cal continued regardless.

"Was she good? Did you get your rocks off?" Marco took a deep breath and looked straight ahead. Cal couldn't see it but the look of contempt had reappeared on his face. He'd gotten over the initial shock of coming face to face with his victim's father.

"Best piece of ass I ever had…" he laughed cruelly and Cal finally lost it. Grabbing him by his hair, Cal slammed Marco's face into the table. Marco screamed as his burned cheek hit the hard surface. Cal's jaw clenched and he pointed his finger at Marco.

"You say that again! Just you bloody say that again!" Marco pulled himself back into a sitting position and twisted to look at Cal, a cruel twinkle in his eye.

"Your daughter. She didn't even struggle. She'll saye she was afraid. I think she was just enjoying it…" he broke into a chuckle and Cal's fist immediately connected with his open mouth.

OXOXOXO

The minute Gillian heard that comment she nodded at Ben. This was going to get out of hand if someone didn't get in there right now. Ben pushed the door but couldn't get in.

"It's locked," he called to Gillian. Gillian sighed and shouted back.

"4347." Ben typed in the number but it didn't work.

"Access Denied" Gillian slammed her hand down on the desk.

"Damnit Cal!" Zoe looked at her.

"What's going on?" Gillian was pulling up computer files on the PC in front of her.

"He must have over-rode the lock-in code when he went inside. I need to find the over-riding code for that. God damn it." Zoe looked back into the Cube.

"You better find it quick," she said. Gillian looked up and winced.

OXOXOXO

Cal managed to land three or four more good punches before the physically taller, younger and probably stronger Marco got to his feet. Cal hit him again; certain he felt the bone of Marco's nose break beneath his fist. Maco staggered back before lunging forward and cracking Cal across the jaw. From there, the fist fight turned into an all out brawl. Kicks were thrown, hair was pulled, knees were dug into stomachs. Cal got some decent hits in but it was becoming clearer to him that Marco physically had the upper hand on him.

Cal was still swinging when he heard the Cube door opening. Marco looked back in surprise and Cal took his opportunity to swing for his stomach again. As Marco bent over in pain, Cal brought his knee into Marco's face, connecting with his nose and burnt cheek again. Marco fell to the floor as two FBI men restrained him and Ben hauled Cal back and away from him. Ben pushed Cal so hard he fell down in the corner, bringing his hand to his broken, bloody nose and split lip. His ribs hurt too. He moved to stand up but Ben pushed him back down.

"What the hell did you think you were doing? You'll be lucky if you can use ANY of that in a court of law. And the fact that you locked us out of the room? That's only going to make this look like even more of a renegade mission…."

"Actually, those locks auto-update on the hour. The codes change and we have a book of variations. Cal didn't over-ride the lock mechanism." Gillian's voice thundered from the doorway. Cal looked up through bleary eyes and he gave her a pasty smile. She was lying for him. Ben probably knew it too but he'd be willing to believe anything from Gillian's mouth. Cal stumbled to his feet, attempting to brush himself off but realising the futility of it.

"So what now?" Ben looked at him bitterly.

"Now, I try to convince my boss that you were acting in self defence even though you hit him first…"

"Did you hear what he said about my daughter? You show that to any jury, ask them what they'd have done and they'll say the exact same thing. I hope you're not letting him back out on the streets again. He admitted what he did." Ben shook his head.

"We're keeping him. And we're going to charge him. But you need to be ready for some backlash. All of you. This guy's dangerous and he's got dangerous friends. I'm going to post agents on your houses. But right now, I've got to go put out some fires. Go get cleaned up, I'll call when I know something." With that Ben whirled on his heel and stormed out of the Cube. Gillian looked at Cal, shaking her head.

"Was I talking to a wall?" she asked, good naturedly. He nodded his head.

"It's not my nature to stand back and listen to someone speak like that about anyone I know." Gillian nodded her head. She knew that. All too well. She put a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on. I'll play nurse." He smiled and followed her from the Cube across the corridor to his office. Neither Zoe nor Emily were anywhere to be seen. Zoe had probably gone to make sure Emily wasn't going to bump into Marco on his way out the door. Cal knew they wouldn't leave without coming to see him.

OXOXOXO

Gillian pushed Cal down into his office chair and pulled the first aid kit he kept under his drinks cabinet out. She always found it ironic that he kept the two items so close together. She took some sponge and using a water bottle on the window sill, used it to clean the cuts on his face and the blood from around his nose. When she touched his nose, he winced.

"My guess is that's broken," she said as she moved to clean the blood from around his split lip. Her finger tipped off the soft skin there as she slowly drew the sponge along where the blood was. Cal thought he'd never felt anything more sensual in his life. He wondered if it e overly bold of him to take her finger between his teeth. Putting the sponge down for a minute, Gillian gently pulled his bottom lip down to see his gums and teeth. She repeated the same process with his upper one.

"No internal damage," she said but he wasn't listening. As she moved to draw her hand away, Cal reached forward and caught her retreating thumb between his teeth. Maybe it was the loss of blood, maybe it was everything that had happened in the last three days or maybe he was finally growing a pair of balls. He felt it was time to take the plunge. She froze as she felt his tongue glide across the tip of her thumb. She swallowed hard.

"Cal…" Though she said nothing more, she let her finger curl in his mouth down onto his lip and he released it when he felt her stroke along his lip again. He stood up, pinning her effectively between him and his desk. She looked at him nervously before speaking again.

"Cal…" she tried again but he wasn't listening to her. His hand was on her neck, his thumb stroking her cheek as he parted his lips and looked her in the eye. There was no question as to what either person was seeing. Cal suddenly squinted and blinked hard, glancing down at the ground. Gillian's hands fell onto his shoulders.

"Cal? What's wrong?" He shook his head.

"I just suddenly felt very dizzy for a minute there." Gillian smirked.

"I sometimes have that effect," she joked and he looked at her.

"I'm not disagreeing with you love." As he moved closer to her again, he was struck yet again with a bout of dizziness. He groaned as he reached for his chair and sat down.

"Worst timing ever," he said as he put his hands over his head and closed his eyes. Gillian left a hand on his shoulder as he tried to regain his vision.

"You should probably go to a hospital. You could have concussion…." Cal ventured to stand up again and managed it this time. Unfortunately Gillian had stepped out from his desk putting a decent distance between them again.

"I'm ok," he said, leaning his hand on the back of his chair. Gillian noticed it straight away.

"Sit down. I'll get you some water and, do you have a headache? I'll get painkillers," she added off his nod. He collapsed back into his chair and clicked the space bar on his computer. Once he'd logged in, he pulled up the video footage from the analysis room and played it on the laptop screen. His comments left a bad taste in his mouth. The way he spoke about Emily sickened him. He knew it was all a show, knew anyone watching would know that but he still felt sick. Would they think that it had been something he'd have said in his youth? It wasn't. He might have been a troublesome bastard but he wasn't a sick one too. Would they question his methods, ask if he couldn't extract information a less negative way? He groaned as he hit 'stop' and rewound to the beginning just as Gillian came in with the water and pills. She put both down on his desk and sat down in the opposite chair.

"Turn that off. Take those. And I'll bring you home." Cal nodded his head and pressed the power button. Gillian was amazed at how easily he gave in. She wondered if something really was wrong with him. He popped the pills easily and swallowed down the glass of water in one go. Then he stood up.

"Ok, let's go." He walked a few steps before feeling dizzy again.

"Oh for God's sake," he said simply and Gillian caught his arm. At that exact moment Zoe and Emily walked in. Emily's face fell.

"Dad? What's wrong? What happened your face?"

"Nothing love. Just a bit dizzy is all." Emily moved to take his other arm and wrap her own around his waist. He smiled down at her.

"I told you not to do anything stupid Dad." He smirked and stifled a laugh as he took a few more steps forward, regaining his balance again.

"Don't you know your old man never does anything he's told?" he replied jokingly and both Gillian and Zoe shared a look on that one. Cal turned back to Emily.

"Are you alright love?" Emily nodded.

"Are you sure?" She nodded again and wrapped her arms around his waist again.

"Thanks Dad." He bit his lip before pressing a soft kiss into the top of her hair.

OXOXOXO

**It ain't over yet. Nope, there's lots more to come. But it may be a while. After all this bit took a while so the next bit could be the same. Bear with me, I'll get there. Keep reviewing! Thanks!**e shookHHHHhH


	15. Chapter 15

Cal, Gillian, Zoe and Emily had dinner together in a restaurant a couple of blocks from the Lightman Group. Cal had insisted Gillian come along and to his utter surprise Zoe seemed to be in favour of the idea too. He supposed it was because Gillian had originally spoken to Emily about what happened and helped to reassure her. While they were at dinner, Cal got a call from Reynolds which he took outside.

"I'm posting men on your house and Zoe's." Cal bit his lip.

"I think you should put some on Gillian's too," he said immediately.

"Why?"

"Because you idiot, they'll try to get to me. And it doesn't take a bloody rocket scientist to see that they could do that through Gillian. What do they teach you lot in Quantico these days?" Ben coughed on the other end of the phone and Cal could tell by his hesitation that he wasn't going to like what was said next.

"Permission had to come from the top on this one. They were reluctant enough to cover two houses. Three definitely won't happen." Cal felt like flinging his phone against the wall.

"You put the director on to me. I want to speak to him."

"Cal, the FBI is not at your beck and call…" Cal didn't notice Gillian pass by him to the bathroom. He didn't notice her stop as he spoke either.

"Well, you tell your boss that either he makes this happen or the Lightman Group is no longer at _his _beck and call. You got that?" He hung up before Reynolds had the chance to respond and it took every piece of self restraint in his body not to throw the phone against the wall.

"Cal? What's going on?" He turned to see her standing just by the door to the bathrooms. He shook his head.

"Nothing love. Everything's alright."

"Cal, your nostrils are flaring. It doesn't take a deception expert to know you're angry about something. And threatening the FBI?" She took a step towards him and he looked away.

"They've posted men on my house and Zoe's." Gillian nodded her head, not seeing a problem yet.

"OK, so what's the problem?" she asked and he looked at her, swallowing hard, then suddenly feeling dehydrated.

"I want someone at your house too." Gillian frowned and looked at him. Her face was awash with confusion.

"My house? Why my house?" Cal took a deep breath and let himself lean back against the wall. He stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"They're going to be out to get to me Gill. Marco's boys. They're going to use the people closest to me to do that…" he trailed off, allowing what he said to sink in. Gillian raised an eyebrow.

"Cal, they don't even know who I am." Cal waved his hand, stepping out from the wall.

"Come on Gill. You type my name into a search engine and seven out of every ten photos of me have you in them as well." As if to emphasise his point, he pulled his phone from his pocket, conducted a search and showed her. Gillian shook her head.

"As business partners Cal." Cal shook his head and pulled up a picture of the two at a dance hosted by the mayor. Cal wore his usual black tied suit while Gillian looked breathtaking in an off the shoulder deep blue dress with diamond on the front of it. They were both smiling delightfully. He showed it to her.

"Is 'business partners' the first thing you think when you look at this picture?" he asked and she took a deep breath, about to speak when the phone in her hand went off again.

"It's Reynolds" she said as she handed to phone to him before slipping away back to the table. Cal watched her before pressing the green button to answer.

OXOXOXO

Cal picked up the check and left his credit card in the wallet for the waiter to collect. He signed when the card came back and thanked the waiter for his service. He'd been quiet through desert and coffee. All three women had asked him at some stage if he was alright. He could see a man at the table next to him glance over every so often, clearly wondering whether either of the two women at the table were with him. He ignored him.

Outside, Zoe offered them both a ride home but Cal shook his head.

"It's ok, we need to go back to the office." Gillian flashed a glance at him. She didn't want to go back to the office but there was obviously something bothering him so she politely declined Zoe's offer too. Cal kissed Emily on the forehead and waited until they'd gotten into the car before turning to hail a cab. Gillian watched him.

"Cal, it's just four blocks, we could walk it." Cal ignored her and flagged the first cab he saw, opening the door for her.

"We're not going to the office. Get in." Gillian frowned at him but did as she was told. Cal climbed in behind her. Cal gave his address to the taxi driver and he pulled out from the curb.

"Cal, what's going on?" Gillian asked finally, after she'd pulled her coat out form under her and was sitting somewhat more comfortably.

"FBI called my bluff. Told me if I pulled my link with them they'd ease off their investigation of this case and Marco'd get off scot-free…" Gillian turned to him.

"What? That's insane. And wrong on so many levels. What did you say?" Cal shrugged his shoulders, digging his hands together between his knees.

"What could I say? I had to agree with them. There's no one watching your house," he added as if to emphasise his point. Gillian nodded her head.

"Cal, I'll be fine, there was no need for you to antagonise them about that. These guys don't know who I am…." Cal shook his head.

"You'll forgive me if I don't want to take that chance…" he said quietly and Gillian looked at him, head tilted.

"What do you mean?"

"You're staying with me until this is all over." Gillian's eyes widened and she turned to look at him properly. Trying to see if he was serious. He was.

"No way Cal."

"Gill…"

"No, Cal, you are over-reacting here. I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself. You're being paranoid." Cal sighed and looked away out the window. Neither said anything for the rest of the journey.

OXOXOXO

Cal paid the driver as he pulled in at his house and stepped from the car. Turning, he saw Gillian remained sitting.

"Get out of the car, love." She shook her head.

"I'm going home Cal." Cal kneeled back in on the edge of the seat and took her hand in his.

"Just come in and let's talk. Then I'll drive you home." Gillian looked at him, failing to realise he didn't have a car at his house before giving in and stepping from the car. She thanked the taxi driver as she did and he sped off the minute the door slammed. Probably afraid he'd end up getting stuck with one of them for another trip.

OXOXOXO

Gillian sat on the couch while Cal made tea. She looked around, this was her second night in three days in this house. She swallowed, trying hard not to think about how domestic and couple-like the last three days had been for her and Cal. She was supporting him, she told herself. Cal walked through carrying two mugs of some form of steaming liquid. His was tea, she knew. He never drank anything else after 7pm. She thought she could make out a different smell from her mug. She inhaled as he put it down in front of her and smiled when she recognised the smell of hot chocolate. Cal noticed immediately.

"Em loves the stuff. I can't bloody bear it." Gillian smiled as she held the mug between her hands. They sat in silence for a moment drinking their drinks, Cal staring straight ahead, thinking. Gillian glanced at him every now and then. She couldn't help but think about their moment in his office earlier on. She was almost certain he was building up to kissing her. She swallowed hard then drank some hot chocolate to cover it up in case he was watching. And he was always watching. She'd learned that long ago. Eventually he spoke.

"Gill, just, stay here tonight eh?" Gillian's shoulder dropped as she sighed and put her mug down on the table.

"Cal, seriously…"

"Gillian, these guys are ruthless bastards. You saw what they did to Emily without provocation. What do you think they'd do now that he's banged up?" Gillian stood up, her hands flailing as she spoke.

"Cal, they don't know who I am! I turn up in 70% of your pictures as your _business partner_…" Cal sat forward on the couch.

"Gill, all those pictures…." Gillian threw her eyes up to heaven.

"Cal, you are putting what you want to see into their eyes…" Cal froze at this remark and Gillian stopped herself too, realising what she had just said. Cal tilted his head slightly and stood up. Was that what this was? Was he just seeing what he wanted to see? Was earlier in the office just an illusion? He shut the idea from his head. It couldn't be. He'd seen it in her eyes earlier on. He'd seen his feelings mirrored on her face. She shook his head.

"It's not what I _want _to see love. It's what I do see. What do you see when you look at that photo of us?" He stepped closer to her, watching the muscles in her face carefully. She shook her head at him, amazed at this ability to twist a conversation just like that.

"Cal…"

"Simple question love, what do you see? Would your first impression say 'business partners'?" She shook her head after moment.

"No."

"No. So what does it say?" he said then, stepping closer to her again. She swallowed and looked away, his proximity testing her reserve. Finally she looked back, her face showing resignation.

"It says 'Fine, I'll stay with you'."

OXOXOXO

**That's not going to be the end of that argument but for now, it is. Things will hopefully unfold quickly from here. Click that button y'all. **


	16. Chapter 16

"Cal, we're going to have to discuss this properly tomorrow." Gillian ran her finger around the rim of the wine glass he'd given her. He looked up from his position next to her on the couch.

"What do you mean?" Gillian tilted her head and raised an eyebrow.

"This is not a long term arrangement, you understand that right?" He looked away from her, sighing. He turned on the couch so his knee was brushing off her thigh.

"Gillian, at least…understand what my motives are." It was only after he'd said it that he realised how questionable it sounded. Gillian picked up on it too.

"I didn't know you had _motives, _Cal. What are they?" Cal shook his head, putting his wine glass down on the table.

"That's not what I meant to say," he lied. Gillian smiled and shook her head.

"I may be tipsy but I'm not stupid." He looked up, his eye catching hers. They held them for a moment and he shifted closer to her on the couch. She turned her body slightly toward him. He put a hand on her knee.

"Let me spell it out for you love." He paused as he picked up his wine glass and took a long slug from it. He put it down again and looked back at her. She raised an eyebrow.

"You were saying?" Cal nodded.

"I was. I was saying to you before that after Emily you're the most important person in my life. That's two important people I've got. Just two. Now one of them has been hurt badly in the last three days. So you'll forgive me if I'm just a little bit paranoid about seeing the other person hurt as well." He absently stroked along her knee with this thumb. She watched his face as he spoke, glanced down to her knee when he finished, when she noticed what he was doing. Then she looked back at his face.

"You really think they might come after me?" she asked in an almost whisper and Cal looked into her eyes. For the first time since they'd left the office, since they'd had this discussion, Cal saw something new in her eyes. Fear. He took a deep breath and nodded his head.

"I think if they have half a brain between them then yeah." Gillian looked away from him, sighing again, picking up her wine and sipping from it. Cal did the same; draining the last of what was in his glass and leaving it back down on the table. He watched as Gillian shook her head.

"Cal, this is a lot bigger than either of us could have imagined…"

"I know love. And I'm sorry to have dragged you into it…" At this she let her hand drop to his where it rested on her knee. His thumb stilled for a moment before he turned his hand to clasp hers, his thumb continuing to stroke the back of her hand.

"I wouldn't have had it any other way and you know it," she replied and he grinned, knowing that she was right. Anything to do with Emily, whom she referred to as 'her favourite teenager' and Gillian would help where she could. Cal knew how fond she was of his daughter.

"We'll be ok love. I promise you that." As he spoke he pulled her hand up towards him, turning it so he could kiss the back of her hand. His lips were soft and she smiled at the contact. Her smile wavered slightly when he held her hand there and proceeded to kiss her knuckles one by one, then down along her fingers until finally he reached the fingernails of her index finger. He caught her finger between his teeth, briefly glancing up at her face. Her eyes were heavy lidded but the corner of her lips twitched into a smile. He grinned to himself and slid his tongue along her finger, closing his mouth around the digit. He looked up when he heard her laughing and pulled back from her.

"What? What's so funny?" She shook her head, letting her hand land on his thigh.

"Nothing."

"Liar."

"That's the second time today you've tried to bite my finger off. I was just thinking of how much of an oral fetish you have…" Cal's eyes widened as she said the words 'oral fetish'. And the fact that she'd been thinking about it… He edged closer to her.

"Were you now?" He grinned down at her, his hand creeping to her hip, his other hand across the back of the couch, reaching to play with a strand of her hair. She smirked at him, tilting her head slightly back to look at him. Then slowly, she leaned forward to whisper in his ear.

"Yeah. I was…" Her lips brushed off his ear lobe as she moved to pull back but she felt his strong hand on the back of her head holding her still, just an inch or two from his lips.

"And what did you think about it?" he purred, his tongue darting across his lips in anticipation. She smirked. She'd seen the quick move of his tongue. She let both hands rest on his mid-thigh as leaned forward towards him.

"I thought it would need further investigation," she said simply before letting her mouth slide onto his in a soft kiss. Cal revelled in the fact that she had made the first move. If he'd had to do so it would have been a bone crunching kiss that would have seen them both on the floor, probably having broken his coffee table. He preferred this though, the soft, sensual touch of her lips to his, their tongues darting to tease one another, neither willing to be the first to give in. Eventually she did, opening her mouth to allow him access which he took willingly.

When they broke apart Cal held her face to his with a firm grip. He looked at his partner.

"Bloody hell…" he said, trying desperately hard to control his breathing. Gillian swallowed at this remark. He didn't miss it. He had to think fast on this one or she'd bolt and leave him out in the open on his own. He did the only thing he could think of. He kissed her again. Harder this time. More forceful, more passionate, more urgent. He hooked his hand under her knee and pulled her leg over his hip as his tongue glided under the edge of her teeth. His other hand buried deep in her hair, grasping chunks of it ever now and then but never getting rough. It took Gillian a moment to realise that he wasn't alarmed the way she had thought from his remark. When she did, she kissed him back, almost as ferociously as he was kissing her. It became almost like a struggle for power, each trying to outdo the other for breathlessness. Eventually Gillian broke away, breathing heavily. Cal kissed her neck and jaw as she tried to regain her breath.

"Tell me to stop…" he mumbled as he kissed along her clavicle, his tongue darting out to taste her skin. Gillian felt herself sink further into the couch.

"Are you insane?" she replied and heard him laughing against her skin, his lips trailing back up her neck to her ear where he bit her lobe between his teeth.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" he asked, grinning as he swirled his tongue under her earlobe, his hand trailing up her thigh, pulling her further down the couch into a lying position. Her other leg twisted comfortably underneath his weight.

"No but I do want…." She didn't finish her sentence. She just pushed him back and moved with him so that now he was the one lying on the couch and she positioned over him. He grinned up at her as she straddled his waist, his hands moving automatically to her hips.

"I've changed my answer anyway. I think I am starting to go insane again…" He sat forward to kiss her again and her hands went into his hair, his coming down onto her thighs, pulling her closer to him. When they broke, Cal rested his forehead against hers, breathing heavily. He looked up at her, a smile on his face.

"So what about 'the line'?" he said in a mocking tone. She smirked down at him before pulling away and standing up. Cal kicked himself. Why did he bring up the line? Stupid. His thinking halted when she held her hand for his.

"To hell with the line," she said as he pushed himself off the couch, grasping her hand and pulling her close to him.

OXOXOXO

**Wasn't going to end it here but seemed a good place. More to come. Bit more fluff, etc but will get back to the plot I promise. I'm just having fun with them at the moment!**


	17. Chapter 17

Cal wasn't sure how they'd manage to clamber up the stairs into his bedroom. They'd stumbled on the stairway a couple of times, Gillian remarking at one point that there would be an imprint of a set of steps in her back. Cal had smirked and suggested they do it right there which managed to get Gillian back on her feet. As they burst through his bedroom door, Cal reached back and kicked it closed with his foot, his hands going to her waist, under her blouse onto her warm skin. He groaned into her mouth as they moved towards the bed. Her legs hit the bed and she fell back onto it, Cal climbing over her, his body seeming to fit into hers like two adjacent jigsaw pieces. His hand slid further up her back, his other hand on her thigh, pulling her leg up over his hip. He kissed her neck and down her clavicle into the line between her breasts where he nosed at the fabric of her shirt.

"I need another pair of hands…" he said, catching a shit button in his teeth and pulling it like a dog. She laughed, suddenly sitting up to face him. He frowned and pushed back so he was kneeling in front of her. He watched her carefully as her face contorted into a look he'd seen on her face before. Fear and uncertainly.

"I know that look." She bit her lip. He continued, "You're having second thoughts about this…" She shook her head.

"It's not that. It's just…."

"…too fast?" he finished for her. She shook her head again.

"No…well maybe yeah. I don't know. Something just feels strange." He nodded his head. She bit her lip, her eyes dropping and he caught her chin, tipping it back up to look at him. He kneeled in closer to her so that he was towering over her.

"Don't do that," he said.

"Do what?" Cal looked at her, his eyebrow raised. She scoffed and looked away from him.

"Cal I'm sorry I…"

"That. Don't do that." Cal jumped as she spoke. Taken aback, she looked at him, a yawn escaping from her mouth. As she closed it, he leaned in and caught her lips in a soft, chaste kiss. Their tongues locked briefly before he pulled back again.

"As long as I know that _that's_ not a lie, you have nothing you possibly need to be sorry about." She smiled at him and swung around, her legs tipping over the side, readying her to stand.

"It's just, it's been a while and…well, you and I are, well, complicated…" she was stumbling and much as Cal thought it adorable he could hear the strain in her voice. He moved to the edge of the bed, sitting next to her.

"Gill, whatever you want, I'll do. I might be a pain in the arse most of the time but, you know I'd do anything for you, right?" She smiled sweetly at him and nodded her head. She kissed him again. He took her kiss then sat. He wondered if she was going to use this as an excuse to skip off home.

"Can I have something to sleep in?" she asked finally and he grinned at her, glancing her up and down.

"No. You'll have to sleep naked. I have my issues with that but I'll get over them…" He grinned at her and she shook her head, standing up and moving to his dresser. She was about to pull open a shelf when she stopped and looked back at him.

"Which of these do I not want to open?" He grinned, standing up and moving over to her. Standing behind her, he rested his chin on her shoulder and opened the top drawer, pulling out a pair of pyjama bottoms and a t-shirt. Using his other hand, he pulled hers from her side and placed the clothing in her hand. Then he kissed her neck before pulling away and moving back toward the bed. He watched her as she moved to the en-suite, closing the door behind her. Cal smiled and unbuckled his jeans, tossing them on the chair by the bed before throwing his t-shirt on it too. He usually slept in a t-shirt but something made him take it off tonight, even though he knew she knew he always slept in a t-shirt. He was just reaching to retrieve the t-shirt when he heard the en suite door closing. He turned to see her in his too big pyjama pants and shirt. He smiled and forgot about his own shirt and simply pulled back the covers and slipped into bed.

"I could get used to seeing you in that…" he grinned at her as she moved to the other side of his bed and slipped under the covers. He lifted his arm and she slipped under it, her arm trailing across his stomach. He smiled down at her, watching as she nestled herself into the crook of his arm, her head resting on his chest, her hand absently stroking along his stomach. He turned suddenly so that the were both facing each other, lying on their sides.

"Do you know any counsellors?" he asked her suddenly and her eyebrows raised. He immediately jumped on her reaction, "Oi, don't get your hopes up. It's for Emily. I think she should talk to someone. Especially after today and all the stuff that's going to happen in the future." Gillian was nodding her head.

"I know someone. I'll call her tomorrow. She owes me a favour or two." A smirk ghosted across her face and Cal mirrored it.

"What you do?" She shrugged.

"Introduced her to her husband," she said nonchalantly and Cal nodded.

"Matchmaker extraordinaire, eh?" He grinned, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear.

"For everyone but myself." Cal's smile fell slightly. She had remarked it in a throwaway way but he hadn't been able to see her face to read her. He decided to play the joker card.

"Oi!" he exclaimed simply and she looked up at him, a smile on her face.

"I meant up until you," she said quickly and he frowned.

"Well played." He smirked, pulling her closer to him. They faded into sleep after a while, Cal waiting until he was sure she had dozed off before allowing himself to do the same.

_**I am SO sorry this has taken so long. If I've lost people, it's fully understandable. As for the news of Season 3's back 9…well, what can I say? Devastating, let's hope Fox gets its act together and picks up Season 4!**_


	18. Chapter 18

Cal woke to an empty bed the next morning and somehow he knew Gillian wouldn't be in the bathroom brushing her teeth with the spare brush she'd left here months ago. He knew she wouldn't be in the kitchen brewing herself some coffee, waiting for him to arrive. He accepted that she would have had to go home. What he didn't accept was that she would leave without saying goodbye. It didn't seem very Gillian-esque. He looked around the room for a note or some form of message but there was nothing. Very strange indeed. He wondered suddenly if she was feeling the fallout from their passion last night. If, in the cold light of day, she suddenly regretted everything and wanted to forget it had ever happened. He gulped and headed for the shower.

OXOXOXO

Torres cornered him as he walked in to ask how Emily was. To her surprise he didn't tell her to get lost. Instead, he told her she was good and staying at her mother's for a day or two. A couple of people double took when they saw his black eyes but anyone who'd worked there for longer than two weeks knew that it was normal to see him injured in someway or other.

"Where's Foster?" he asked as he was walking away and Torres shrugged.

"She hasn't been in yet." Cal stopped and turned to face her.

"Eh?" he said, his head tilted. Torres shrugged, obviously not thinking much of it.

"She hasn't been in yet. Why, is there a problem?" Cal shook his head and walked on toward his office. That was strange. Foster was _always_ in before him. He wondered if he should call her. He sat down at his desk and turned on his computer. He'd check his emails first. Maybe she was just running late.

OXOXOXO

Twenty five emails and a phone call from Zoe later and Gillian still hadn't shown up. Zoe had called to see if Cal could pop by that evening. Emily had told Rick what had happened and he hadn't taken it very well. He and his parents were going to Zoe's that evening to talk about what had happened. Cal scoffed when he'd heard that. They were coming to plead with he and Zoe to believe that Rick was normally a nice boy who they should let their daughter be around. Leaving girls stranded on the side of the road wasn't something he usually did. Cal agreed through gritted teeth that he would stop by as soon as he'd finished in the office.

Cal finally broke and picked up his phone. He dialled Gillian's number. She picked up after five rings.

"Hi Cal," she said pleasantly and Cal was taken aback. She was cheerful and bright. So he hadn't done something wrong and she wasn't annoyed at him.

"Gill, where are you?"

"Didn't you get my note?" Cal frowned and looked around his desk.

"No. Where'd you leave it?"

"In my office. I thought sure it would be the first place you'd go after you managed to crawl out of bed this morning…" There was a playful edge to her tone. Cal liked it immensely. He grinned as he sat down in his chair, swinging his feet onto the corner of the desk.

"Well I'm like Sleeping Beauty, me. I generally like to be woken with a kiss…" It was only after he said it he realised how camp he sounded. He mentally slapped himself as Gillian chuckled on the other end before becoming serious again.

"I didn't want to wake you. I left pretty early." Cal nodded his head. He'd known that.

"So where are you anyway?" he asked as Torres walked into the room. She stopped when she saw he was on the phone but he signalled for her to stay and held up one finger.

"I went to see a counsellor." Cal grinned. He knew it was for Emily but he couldn't resist.

"Oh yeah? You been having those…_urges_ again?" He heard Gillian laughing on the other end of the line and he smirked. Torres raised an eyebrow.

"She said she'll see Emily any time that suits. Just give her a call in advance. I have a number for you." Cal's face returned to his usual neutral mask.

"That's great love. You coming back here, yeah?"

"I'm on my way."

"Great. I'll see you soon then." With that he hung and turned his attention to Torres, raising his eyebrows in the form of a question. What's going on? She held up a file.

"Domestic abuse. Neither knows we've been asked to look at the case. Girlfriend moved in with boyfriend two months ago. He's the abused." Cal looked up at this remark and took the file.

"Dirty laundry Torres, why are you even bringing this to me? You know I hate domestics.

"Because the abused man is David McCall." Cal raised his eyebrows again, shaking his head at her word games. He wanted a good reason as to why he was expected to take on a domestic abuse case. Torres sighed, handing him the file.

"McCall. He's Dr Foster's brother." She said finally and Cal looked up from the mostly empty file.

"Oh bloody hell…" he said, dropping the folder to the desk.

OXOXOXO

**SO SO sorry about the delay! If no one reads this I won't be surprised! Sorry! I hope to get more up shortly. I didn't know this twist was coming into it. Just something I thought of while writing. Hope everyone's staying with me. There's still loads more to come in Emily's story too. **


	19. Chapter 19

Cal busied himself with looking through the file Torres had left him. There wasn't much in it seeing as neither person knew that they were under the microscope. Cal had never met Gillian's brother. Surprisingly enough he had never met any of her family. He groaned, wondering how on earth he was supposed to tell her that her brother was being beaten up by his girlfriend. There had to be some kind of mistake. He picked up his phone and rang Torres' extension.

"Who brought in this investigation?"

"Local police." Cal shook his head.

"Yeah but who reported it?" He could hear Torres rustling papers on her end. She must have written it down somewhere. He reached and grabbed a pen.

"A…Sally Walters. Said she was a long time friend of David's and was worried about him." Cal pursed his lips and nodded his head.

"Ok." He hung up.

OXOXOXO

He was deep in thought later that morning when Gillian swung by,, having just got back from her meeting with the counsellor for Emily. She smiled a lovely wide beam at him as she came in. He smiled back but it didn't reach his eyes, even though the sight was a visual treat.

"Alright love?"

"Yeah, I've got a number for you here. And you can call any time, she'll fit Emily in no problem." She handed Cal the business card and he pocketed it. He took a deep breath. Gillian frowned.

"Cal? Are you ok?" He nodded, pursing his lips. She raised an eyebrow and turned to leave. When he was in a mood like this it was best to let him work his own way out of it, unless he asked for help.

"Gill, do you know a Sally Walters?" He watched as her shoulders tightened and she turned back to face him, a curious look on her face.

"Where'd you get that name from?" Cal held up the file for her brother.

"New case."

"What she do?"

"How do you know her?" Gillian sat down in one of the chairs opposite his desk, crossing one leg over the other offering Cal a nice view of her leg. He smirked.

"She dated my brother David for a while. God it must be back in high school. But they broke up. He said she was too clingy. I haven't heard anything about her since. Why? What's she done?" Cal sat forward in his chair, his elbows leaning on the desk. He was still holding the file. He put it down on the table and she looked at him cautiously.

"She's made an allegation. That concerns your brother." Gillian's eyes widened.

OXOXOXO

"This is nonsense." Gillian said as she finished reading the last page of the file. Cal nodded his head. It had been his assumption too, the minute he heard that neither partner had made the complaint. And the minute he knew it wasn't a family member.

"I agree. So what do you want to do?" he asked her quickly and she raised an eyebrow, in thought.

"I want to talk to my brother. And then I want to talk to Sally. This is a hoax and not a funny one." Cal watched her as she thumbed through the report again. She was mad. It turned him on greatly. He stared at her until she looked up, catching her eyes in his before looking back down again. She smirked.

"Cal, you're not being very subtle…"

"There's no one else here. I don't need to be." He grinned. She shrugged. They sat in a tense but comfortable silence for a few moments. Cal eventually broke it.

"What you doing tonight?" he asked, twisting a pen between his fingers. He had to remember to give Emily a call after lunch. And Reynolds, to find out what was happening with Gerardo and his gang. Cal had almost forgotten he was under surveillance this morning when he walked out the door. He wondered if they had reported to Reynolds about Gillian staying with him.

"I'm going to go see my brother. See what's going on, find out if anything's happened with Sally lately." Cal nodded his head and remained silent again for a moment.

"I have to go to Zoe's. Rick's parents are coming over. Probably to apologise and say what a nice young man Rick is and how "out of character" it is for him to leave a girl stranded on the side of the road…" Cal bit the inside of his cheek. Gillian reached across the table, her hand landing on his. He turned so their fingers interlocked.

"Stay cool, Cal. Don't, don't fly off the handle." He nodded and squeezed her hand.

"You coming over tonight? After your brother's?" he asked hopefully and she shook her head.

"It'll be late. You'll be late…"

"You're not staying in that house on your own." His grip on her hand tightened. She withdrew from him.

"Cal…"

"Gill…"

"No Cal. I'm 40 years old. I can look after myself. I can stay in my own house if I want to. I will be fine. Ok? Get that into your head god damn it." Cal looked at her and nodded his head.

"Ok. But you call me if there's so much as a cricket chirping a bit funny." She smirked and nodded her head.

"I will. But there won't be anything. I'll be fine Cal." With that she stood up and made her way towards the door. She'd done quite enough talking. The accounts weren't going to do themselves.

OXOXOXO

**Ok, just a clarification. Have we ever been told Gillian's maiden name on the show? I don't believe so but if anyone can say for sure, I will change the name McCall. Don't know why I picked it, just popped into my head.**


	20. Chapter 20

Cal took a depe breath as he walked to Zoe's door and knocked rapidly. Emily opened it and he squeezed in past her. He turned back to Emily silently mouthing, "Is Roger here?" Emily was just about to shake her head when Zoe called from the kitchen.

"No, Roger is not here. He's gone to play racquetball." Cal raised his eyebrows and looked at Emily who shrugged. He strolled into the kitchen.

"Now, how did you know I was going to ask that?" he said, picking up a grape and popping it in his mouth. Zoe looked at him, smirk on her face.

"You don't marry someone for 14 years and not get to know them even a little bit," she said smirking and he returned it, moving away to sit at the kitchen table. Sometimes, when he sat down and thought about it, he really missed the repartee he had with his ex-wife. He missed how they seemed to be so fully capable for each other, even though it was something Zoe had only learned after they'd split when she realised she would have to take some kind of control or nothing would be done and Emily could be taken away from both of them. He admired how she had become tougher because of him. She sat down opposite him and he gave her a sad smile.

"What time they coming at then?" he asked, drawing his thoughts away from missing her. He felt guilty even thinking that way. He had Gillian now. Kind of. He knew that he could and would never want another but there were bonds between exes and particularly ex-spouses that couldn't be broken. One of those bonds chose that moment to creep into the room. She sat down at the table and Zoe reached a hand onto her shoulder.

"They'll be here about seven," she replied to Cal's question. He nodded and looked toward the kitchen. She had a tray laid out with tea cups and biscuits. He stood up and she followed him immediately, slapping his hand as he reached to take a piece of cake off a plate.

"Oi! I've had no dinner yet."

"Tough."

He frowned and moved away, back to the kitchen table, sitting down again and sighing. He took out his cell and checked to see if he had any messages from Gillian. There was none. He'd asked her to call him after she spoke to her brother. She was probably there now.

OXOXOXO

Gillian's brother had been surprised when she knocked on the door, smiling, saying she had a free evening and had decided to stop by. Liz, his latest girlfriend, and accused was out, at a yoga practice.

"How are you David?" she asked as he handed her a cup of coffee and switched off the game on the TV. He nodded his head.

"I'm good. You?" Gillian wavered a little when she saw that he was lying.

"Yeah, things are ok," she said honestly.

"Only ok?" Gillian nodded.

"Few rough days. Cal's daughter was…attacked, walking home from a concert. I've been trying to keep him calm." David nodded, listening intently.

"Is she ok?" Gillian thought for a moment about how to answer that one.

"She will be. With some counselling."

"Are you doing it?"

"Oh no, god no. I'm way too close to be involved like that." It wasn't a lie. She'd shared a bed with Cal for the last couple of nights. There would be no such thing as patient confidentiality between them were she to do it. David nodded and it was then that Gillian noticed that he was very quiet.

"David what's wrong? You're awfully quiet." He looked at her, a curious look on his face, a flash of anger, suspicion. He swallowed hard.

"Why are you _really _here Gill?"

OXOXOX

Cal's head jerked up when he heard the doorbell. Zoe moved out of the kitchen to answer it. She shot him a warning look on her way out and he held up his hands in surrender. Emily smirked at him. Zoe lead Rick and his parents into the room and Cal stood up to shake their hands. He cast a long look at Rick who swallowed hard and bowed his head before moving to sit next to Emily. His parents sat on the couch and Cal pulled out a kitchen chair in such a place where he could see their faces. They were wealthy people, he'd known that from the start, the way the man held himself in his stance suggested he was ex-military. Zoe offered everyone tea or drinks and went about pouring. Emily helped her to bring them over. The silence was deafening. Eventually, when Zoe sat down, Rick's father spoke.

"This is, very, well it's quite an unpleasant circumstance to meet under," he swallowed hard , not able to look at either Zoe or Cal. Ricks' mother stepped in.

"We're very sorry for what happened to Emily. Rick is very ashamed and we're, well we're angry about it…"

"We always taught him to treat people with respect and he didn't do that and we're very sorry that this has happened as a result of that.." The father jumped back in again and Cal knew now that he was military. He glanced across at Rick who did indeed look ashamed but also a bit scared. He looked at Zoe who had no doubt seen the same as him. He cleared his throat.

"Look, we all, we make mistakes. We do things we shouldn't, lord knows I know that better than anybody…" Zoe raised an eyebrow at this but he ignored her, continuing, "…Rick made a mistake. I'll admit, yesterday I was ready to kill him over it and probably a little bit of me still is but, he doesn't need more punishment on top knowing what happened. So, Rick, much as it pains me and much as, I never thought I'd be able to, you're off the hook mate." He swallowed hard as he finished talking. If his parents hadn't been so lambasting of him, he'd probably have steamrolled the boy but he got the feeling he was getting that treatment at home. Gillian would be proud of him. He smiled inwardly to himself at that thought.

OXOXOXO

David McCall didn't react to Gillian's story the way she expected. She told him everything, how the case had made its way onto Cal's desk, how they both thought it was a hoax, how she remembered Sally Walters. He remained silent. Gillian suddenly thought to ask a question.

"David, did anything happen between you and Sally?"

"What? No? I haven't seen her since high school."

"So why is she suddenly here, making up these stories?" she asked, sitting forward in her seat. David took a deep breath.

"They're not exactly stories Gill…" Gillian's jaw dropped.

OXOXOXO

She couldn't ask him quickly enough to clarify what he'd just said. He swallowed hard and stood up, pacing the floor.

"It's nothing illegal. It's not abuse. It's just…foreplay." Gillian's eyes widened.

"Sorry?" she said though she had heard him alright. She guessed she didn't really know anything about her brother but she knew something about the women he had dated and judging from some of them she'd have been surprised if any of them knew what S&M translated as. She found it somewhat surreal to discover that her brother was partaking in it. David groaned opposite her.

"Gill…look, I'm not going into detail. It's something Liz and I do, that's all, ok?" Gillian nodded her head. She could accept that. It was his life, to what he pleased with it. A thought occurred to her then.

"David, it's just a thought but…Sally is making these stories up for a reason, why? Did you do anything to her? Or is she maybe, having a nervous collapse or something?" David sniffed and looked away from her, wringing his hands together. Gillian nodded. There was something.

"When we were dating in high school, she got pregnant," he said finally and Gillian's eyes widened.

"What? You were 16 when you dated her!" she knew that wasn't really the point of what he'd just told her but she was still shocked. He looked up at her quickly surprised at her outburst.

"Lets not go into what we did and didn't do when we were 16..." he said with a tone of threatening. Gillian nodded her head.

"What happened?" she asked neutrally.

"I ran of course. Remember, it was the year I went to stay with Billy and his uncle on their ranch? When I came back, she had had an abortion. Never told her parents. Couldn't tell me because I was away. That was, that was the last time we spoke, when she told me that." He sat back on the couch, sighing, it had obviously been a stretch for him to tell her that. She frowned.

"That was, what 20 years ago? Why is she doing this now?" David shook his head.

"I don't know." He was telling the truth. Gillian nodded, standing up.

"The Lightman Group is taking this case," she said abruptly and he stood up shaking his head.

"No, you're not. I don't want this dredged up. I just want to let it pass by. Liz doesn't need to know about all this."

"David, she made a complaint to the police. They brought the case to us because they didn't know how to handle it. If we drop it, she'll keep bringing it to the police until they investigate it and then it'll be worse. You don't need the publicity." She shook her head. He was an architect and a good one but even the most minor of sexual stories could sink a reputation, she knew that. This needed to be handled quickly and out of media eyes. David seemed to be seeing the light and he nodded his head, walking behind his sister to the doorway. She gave him a hug before opening the door. A thought suddenly occurred to David.

"Gill….when you said you were too close to be Cal's daughter's therapist, what did you mean? Gillian looked at him, mouth open, chest suddenly tight. She still didn't really know herself.

"It's complicated," she said finally and walked away.

OXOXOXO

Cal sat in the chair as Emily saw Rick and his parents to the door. He felt strangely subdued about it all. He hadn't lost the rag. He was sure Gillian would have money on him losing the rag if she was a betting woman. He smiled again as he realised he was using Gillian as his yardstick. Zoe came back into the room. She shot him a thin smile.

"I can't believe you didn't fly off the handle," she said picking up the cups and moving to the sink. He stood and picked up the rest of them, following her. He left them down beside the sink and leaned against the worktop.

"I'm just thinking the same thing myself…" he said, slightly dazed.

"Gillian must be having a good effect on you…" she said it coyly but Cal could hear the accusation in the tone. He looked at her.

"Eh?" She smirked.

"Come on Cal. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out yesterday. How long has that been going on?" Cal's eyes widened slightly, enough for her to catch it. He'd trained her well, damn it.

"I don't care Cal. I've got Roger, I'm happy. She obviously makes you happy so that's good…." Cal frowned again, definitely feeling like he'd missed the bigger picture here.

"You hate Gillian," he said pointedly and Zoe shook her head.

"I don't _hate_ her. I was always somewhat wary of her, of how you two worked together, how you seemed to have your own little club that no one else could get into… I'll be honest Cal, for a while I blamed her for ruining our marriage." Cal raised his eyebrows and was about to speak but she cut him off.

"Now I blame you." She smirked, "and me. But I also accept the fact that if it was never going to work. Even with Emily, we were too…caustic to be near one another." She took a cup of the worktop and put it in the sink, turning the tap on and starting to wash it. Cal stood in silence, and shock, for a moment.

"You know, it's been going on for so long at this stage, I don't even know what it is," he said in answer to her first question. She looked up, eyebrow raised. He shrugged and she smiled.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out." He nodded as Emily came back into the kitchen, seeing her parents standing so close together.

"Oh god, you two are so not sleeping together while I'm in the house." Cal's eyes widened and he looked at his daughter.

"Oi! Less of the cheek. And less of the accusations and all. I'm was having a conversation with your mother here, and now I'm leaving, alright chaperone?" He stepped away from the counter top, grabbing Emily in a bear hug and rubbing his knuckles along her scalp causing her to yelp.

"Ow! Dad, cut it out." He let go of her, a grin on his face as he headed for the doorway, Emily following him.

"See you later Zo," he shouted from the hallway and she called her own goodbye back to him. He kissed Emily's forehead as he stepped out onto the porch.

"I'll call you tomorrow, ok?" he said and she nodded. With that he wheeled on his heels and headed for the car.

OXOXOXO

Gillian pushed the button to lock her car as she stepped up the first step to her apartment. She was fumbling in her bag for her house keys when the first blow hit her, on the back of the head. She cried out but knew before she did that no one would come. The street was always empty, always safe. As she turned on the ground, she saw two dark figures standing over her, faces uncovered but they had hit her so hard that her vision was blurry. They reached down and dragged her up the steps to her doorway, she screamed even though she knew no one would come. They didn't try to silence her. That was the only thing that gave her hope that they wouldn't kill her. She swung out with her foot but one of them leaned down and punched her across the jaw. The other kicked her in the ribs and all she could do then was cover her head and wait for it to be over…

Gillian wasn't sure how much time had passed when they stopped hitting her. She knew her head and body hurt. She didn't look up. She heard them press the buttons next to her front door and then the sound of footsteps walking away. She opened her eyes to see the back of their heads as they walked away down the road, in no hurry.

She came to her senses a bit more as she heard an exclamation from the doorway. Tom, one of her neighbours from downstairs had come out at the sound of the door bell.

"Oh my god Gillian! Tanya, call an ambulance," he called back in the door as he moved to help her sit up. She put her hand to her head and felt the trickle of warm blood. Tom was sifting through her handbag and pulled out her cell.

"Who should I call?" he asked, looking through her address book. Gillian swallowed. It hurt. She closed her eyes thinking this was the last thing anyone around her needed right now. She must have zoned out because when Tom's hand fell on her shoulder again, it startled her. Finally she looked at him.

"Cal," she said, "Call Cal."

OXOXOXO

**Ok there was a slight change made to Gillian's age in the last chapter thanks to Onesweetlove's clarification (thank you!)**

**More to come. PS – I'm making this up as I go along…**


	21. Chapter 21

Cal had just pulled into his driveway when the phone rang. He smiled when he saw Gillian's name pop up. He pressed the button to answer it.

"Hello darling. You change your mind about coming to keep me warm?" he grinned to himself but it soon fell when he heard the male voice at the other end of the line.

"Is this Cal?" Cal's blood ran cold.

"Yes…" he said warily.

"I'm Tom, Gillian's neighbour. She's uh, she's been beaten up. She told me to call you." Cal felt the anger begin to burn in his stomach once more. But there was no point in taking out on Tom. He asked where she was being taken to and thanked him for calling. Then he put the car into reverse, screeched out of the driveway and tore off towards town.

OXOXOXO

The hospital was reluctant to let him in because he wasn't family. He sighed in exasperation. He contemplated telling them that they'd been sharing a bed for the last three nights but decided against it.

"She's my business partner and my best friend," he said forcefully.

"I'm sorry Sir, the rule is 'family only'." Cal shook his head before a thought occurred to him.

"Her family's in California," he lied, "Who's her medical contact?" He prayed that she hadn't taken his name off that slot during the cold war that they'd had earlier in the year. The nurse checked the file and finally nodded, telling him where to go.

OXOXOXO

He didn't knock on her room door, just walked straight in. She was sitting up in the bed, and he felt nauseous when he saw her. The whole right hand side of her face was black and blue. Her attacker was left handed, or one of them was. She looked up when she saw him and seemed to contort into herself. He moved and sat next to her on the bed, carefully draping an arm around her as she winced in pain.

"Sorry love." She shook her head.

"It's ok. I'm ok."

"No, you're bloody not. What happened darling?" She sniffed and he threaded his fingers through hers, turning to face her on the bed.

"I was walking up the steps to my apartment and one of them hit me in the face. Really hard. I fell and they dragged me up the steps. There were two of them. I don't know how long they kicked me for…" she trailed off and Cal reached up to push her hair off her face. He touched her black face with the back of his hand and leaned in to softly press his lips to her bruised temple.

"Bastards," he said finally.

"You were right Cal. It was a warning. They didn't say anything but…it has to be, right?" Cal nodded his head, standing up.

"It shouldn't have happened…" Gillian thought he was about to start saying she should have stayed with him.

"Cal…"

"That sodding useless FBI should have been watching your house. They left you out to dry and they're bloody well going to hear about it from me…" He trailed off as he felt her hand on his. He stepped in closer to her and softly kissed her forehead again. Everything had to be gentle, she was very sore.

"What's the damage love?" he asked holding her hand in his.

"Two broken ribs, three more bruised. And bruising on the face. The doctor said I was really lucky, there was no internal bleeding or head injuries." Cal nodded his head even though he didn't consider it very lucky that she'd been beaten to a pulp.

"Are you allowed to leave?" She nodded.

"I just have to check in with the nurse on the way out and she'll give me some painkillers." He nodded at this one and helped her stand up off the bed. He trailed his hand softly behind her, anchoring her if she needed him.

"Are you going to object if I say you're staying in mine tonight?" She shook her head. No she certainly was not. But she hated the fact that she needed to rely on him, needed him to protect her. They stopped at the nurse's station as they passed and Gillian pocketed two tubes of painkillers. Cal cast them a smile of thanks as he led Gillian on toward the elevator.

OXOXOXO

Gillian's back hurt by the time they got back to Cal's house. He helped her from the car and into the house, depositing her on the couch while he went to make tea. His FBI bodyguard was hiding somewhere. Good thing too because Cal might have taken all his anger out on him otherwise.

"I'm going to the FBI in the morning," he called from the kitchen and Gillian grimaced.

"Cal…"

"No Gill, you could have been bloody killed tonight. I told them, I told them to put someone at your house and the stupid bastards wouldn't listen. AND I'm charging them double next time they bring a case to us." He re-emerged and handed her a cup of tea, it was only three quarters full. He sat down next to her and drank his own in silence.

When both cups were emptied Cal took hers and left both on the coffee table. He turned to look at her.

"What do you need?" he asked softly, not sure what exactly he meant but willing her to say whatever she felt. She swallowed.

"Something to sleep in. A glass of water." He smiled. Practical as always. He stood up and moved to the kitchen, he brought the empty cups with him. When he came back he left the glass of water on the coffee table and turned to look at her.

"Let me see," he said softly and her eyes flew open. She shook her head.

"No, Cal. I don't, I don't want you to see it…"

"Why not?" She took a deep breath and moved to the edge of the couch to stand up. He helped her.

"Because it's horrible and ugly…" He shook his head.

"_It _is. _You're_ not," he said, his hand settling on her knee, squeezing slightly. She sighed and shook her head again.

"It's bad enough that you can see my face. And anyway, I'm all bandaged up." Cal shifted closer to her, his hand coming off her knee to softly tip her face towards his.

"Don't ever suggest that it is a bad thing that your face can be seen," he said smiling softly. She smiled then, a genuine smile, one that reached all the way to her eyes and she pursed her lips to catch the soft kiss he placed there before standing up.

"Ok, let's get you kitted out for a sleep over."

OXOXOXO

Cal brushed his teeth and changed into a pyjama bottom while Gillian changed in his bedroom. When he came out of the en suite she was already in the bed, trying to lie in the most comfortable position for her ribs. He smiled and sat down next to her, stroking her hair.

"Does it hurt?"

"It's ok; I just took painkillers so hopefully they kick in." He nodded, standing and moving to sit in the chair by the window.

"What are you doing?" she asked, confused.

"Just go to sleep. I'll be fine." She looked at him, eyebrow raised.

"Cal, come to bed." He stood up and moved to sit down on his side of the bed but he didn't get under the covers.

"Are you sure I won't hurt you?" She looked at him through narrowed eyes.

"Were you planning to?" she asked, shielding a smirk and reaching her hand out for his. He grinned back.

"Oh you know me love, I find something I like I grab on tight." His wolfish grin sent a warm feeling to the pit of her stomach and she cursed her broken ribs that would have any kind of interaction excruciatingly painful.

"I'll take my chances. Get in." He smirked and pulled back the cover, sliding in under it, his head falling to the pillow. He glanced sideways. She was lying on her back, probably the least painful position for her now. He turned onto his side to watch her. She had the sleeves of his shirt tucked into themselves and he leaned across to place a kiss on her shoulder. She smiled and held back a laugh.

"What?" he asked smiling.

"I didn't realise you could be so…" she shook her head, trying to think of the word. He raised his eyebrows, searching her face for the answer and he knew it before she'd said it.

"…cute," She said finally. He flinched backwards, a look of mock horror on his face.

"Cute?" he said in exasperation. She chuckled.

"Goodnight Cal." He took that as the sign to turn off the light.

OXOXOXO

**Slightly shorter chapter here but there's still loads more to come. I'm doing my best to keep it going!**


	22. Chapter 22

Cal woke before her the next morning. He got dressed and set about making breakfast. Then he called the office and left a message with Heidi that he would be late in today if he came in at all. He told her Gillian was taking the day off. Then, while he waited for the bacon to grill, he called Ben.

"I want a word with your boss," he said before Ben had even got the chance to say a single word.

"Why? He look funny at you or something?" Ben replied irritably. He was sick of being the punch bag between Cal and the FBI. Cal swallowed.

"No, he refused to put someone watching Gillian's house and as a result of that she got beaten to a bloody pulp last night…"

"What?" Cal let the statement sink in. Ben babbled a bit on the other line until Cal silenced him.

"Get him in my office. Today." He could hear the strain in Ben's voice before he finally agreed and hung up, saying to give Gillian his best. Cal went back to making breakfast.

OXOXOXO

When Gillian woke she became aware of three things. One, she was late for work. Two, she could smell food and three, she was in dreadful pain. Her ribs ached and her back was out in sympathy. When she squinted her eyes in the light, the bruising on her face ached as well. She felt like crying but was too proud to let Cal see her like that. So she slowly stood up and made her way downstairs, heading towards the appealing smell of greasy breakfast food.

Cal looked up when he saw her and moved to pour coffee for her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, handing her the mug and a plate of bacon and eggs. She thanked him and sat down, shrugging.

"Sore. Useless." Cal shot her a warning glance and she shrugged. What else was she supposed to feel? Cal sipped his tea and took another bite of his toast.

"I just got a text from Ben. He's on the warpath, do you think you'd recognise them if you saw them again?" She shook her head and took a sip of her coffee.

"They had me on the ground so fast, my vision blurred. I don't think I'd recognise them. I didn't really see them to begin with…" He nodded and she took a bite of her bacon and some toast. They sat silently for a moment until finally Gillian spoke again, in a small voice.

"This is serious Cal. We've landed on something that's way too complicated for either of us to handle." Cal wondered how true that was. He nodded anyway to keep her content.

"Yeah. It doesn't look good." He was telling the truth with that one.

"I hate to say it but…I'm scared Cal." At this he stood up, walking around the table and sitting down on the stool next to hers. He brought his hand to her head, rested it on her hair. He kissed her temple softly.

"I know. But don't be. You can stay here for as long as you want. Or if you don't want to stay here, I'll stay with you. We'll be fine Gill. I just need to rethink some things…" He stroked her hair again.

"Like what?"

"I don't know. But you're right Gill, this is dangerous. Honestly, I can only see two options for how to get through it. And I don't like either of them." He sipped his tea and she could tell he was deep in thought. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the two bottles of painkillers that the hospital had given her. She took one of each.

"What are our options?" she asked, letting her hand fall to his thigh. He took a deep breath.

"Crazy and sickening," he said, punctuating each of them to clarify his point. She smirked. That sounded like him.

"I want to talk to Ben and the FBI about the likelihood of a sting or some movement against these guys that might take them down. I don't know how likely that is but, it's worth a try I think." Gillian nodded her head slowly, thinking through the likelihood of something like that working. It was feasible she reckoned.

"Which one is that, 'crazy' or 'sickening'?" she chuckled though she knew it was far from laughable.

"That one's 'crazy'. 'Sickening' is…sickening is dropping the charges against Gerardo. As something of a truce." Gillian looked up at his stony face and she knew straight away that his insides were twisting in knots. The very idea that Gerardo could get away with what he did to Emily killed him. But she could see the logic in his head playing out on his face. He thought he was putting everyone else around him in danger by insisting on the charges being brought against Gerardo. Gillian could see how torn he was. She squeezed his leg supportively and he smiled sadly back at her. He leaned in slowly and his lips found hers in a soft kiss. It was a chaste kiss, nothing like the ones they'd shared two nights ago but somehow it struck Gillian harder than they had.

"Whatever you need to do," she said softly and he nodded.

"I think I need to go to the office," he said quietly. He didn't tell her he'd already arranged to meet Ben and his AD there. She could read it off his face. She nodded her head.

"I'm coming with you." He looked up at her, eyebrow raised. She gave him a warning look.

"Don't even think about telling me not to. I want to get Loker and Torres working on something for me." Cal frowned.

"What is it?"

"My brother's case." Cal's eyebrows raised.

"There's _actually_ a case?" he asked, genuine surprise flashing across his face. He'd assumed they had a hoax and that was that. She nodded her head.

"I'll tell you the details later but yeah, there is a case. It's just not the one we thought it was." He nodded his head standing up. She followed suit, smiling when his hand flew behind her to make sure he was there to steady her. She moved out of the kitchen to go get dressed while Cal cleaned up. He was dressed in usual jeans and black so he was more or less ready to go. Gillian returned about 15 minutes later in the sweats she'd worn the night before. She'd taken a grey sweater from his wardrobe. Her own had been stained in blood and disposed of in the hospital. His fit her ok and he couldn't help but think, even black and blue, he could get used to seeing her wearing his clothes, leaving her scent on them for when he came along to put them on after.

"I'm ready," she said it quickly and he nodded, picking his keys up off the table and heading for the door, arm trailing behind her still, supportive, protective. She still found it endearing. Maybe it was because after last night she really did feel like she needed protecting.

OXOXOXO

She settled herself into the car and tried not to think about the pain for the ten minute car journey they had. Her back and ribs were aching even though she had taken her painkillers. She'd brought the bottles with her but didn't want to take more yet. For his part, Cal noticed her shifting uncomfortably in the seat.

"You alright?" he said as he pulled into the carpark under their building. She nodded her head quickly, glad that she would be out of the car soon. AS he parked she threw open the door and stepped out, stretching her back carefully. He darted around the front of the car, his hand catching her elbow and shoulder.

"Gill, I really don't think you should be going in here." She turned and shot him a look that made him hold his hands in surrender.

"Okay, sorry." He locked the car and followed her to the lift. He pushed the button and cast a glance at her. She'd only had whatever makeup was in her bag to try and cover her bruising but it wasn't very convincing. The first person who stared upstairs would be fired.

OXOXOXO

**Ok, seemed like the place to leave off. More to come soon. Thanking you all for your reviews – you guys are awesome!**

**Divakat made a point about putting in another story (that of Gillian's brother) and in hindsight now I'm sorry I did put it in as there's too much going on in the other one but I'll figure out what to do with it in due course. There's still lots more in the story relating to Emily so don't worry!**


	23. Chapter 23

As the doors opened he heard Gillian take a deep breath. He swallowed hard and put a hand to the small of her back. She smiled appreciatively before walking out, keeping her head down so as not to make eye contact with anyone who might be in the corridors. But the corridors were empty. Gillian headed for the analysis room. She looked at Cal.

"I've got to make a few calls…" he said reluctantly.

"It's fine. I'll talk to Loker and Torres and come into you after?" she asked, not sure if he was meeting Ben or not. But he nodded his head.

"Oh yes. I want them to see what happened to you. And, it might be a dirty stroke, but what I'll threaten every newspaper in this bloody country is going to see if they give me any lip…" Gillian had to smile at that. Cal didn't pay much attention to the media but here he was willing to use it to get one back on those who'd let him and her down. He was sweet in his own illogical way. She cast a quick glance along the corridors before stepping in to brush her lips against his softly.

"I'll see you in a while," she said as she opened the door into the analysis room. He nodded and watched as she stepped inside before heading for his office.

OXOXOXO

"Oh my god! What happened to you?" Torres voice rung out above the other noise in the room. Gillian sighed, sitting down on the chair Loker had quickly jumped out of to give to her. She told them what had happened.

"Jesus," Loker said, "I bet Lightman is like a bear."

"I'd say that's understating it a lot." Gillian said before she even realised she'd said it. She shook her head, remembering why she was there.

"The case involving my brother," she said quickly and the two nodded.

OXOXOXO

Cal was on the phone to Zoe.

"Jesus Christ Cal, she could have been killed…" Cal felt suddenly proud of his ex-wife when he heard the genuine concern in her voice. He nodded his head at what she said.

"I know. This is dangerous Zo, for all of us. I think we need to sit down and seriously discuss what's going on here. The FBI are due in my office in half an hour, can you be here by then?" He checked his watch; she'd be under pressure to get across the city that quickly.

"I'm leaving now."

"Thanks love." He hung up and ran his hand over his face. He was tired but the worry was keeping him awake.

OXOXOXO

Gillian finished talking to them and they were nodding.

"That's pretty straight forward. Bring her in and find out why she's spreading such rumours." Torres said simply and Gillian nodded her head.

"It's straightforward but, I want it done right. If I could do it, I would but I'm counting on you guys on this one. The computer monitor on the desk in front of her caught her eye. The security cameras were open. She frowned, she was pretty sure they weren't supposed to be open in here. But what grabbed her more was the sight of Ben and his AD, Dillon. She stood up.

"Do what you can," she said, pointing at the case file before straightening her t-shirt, feeling totally underdressed, and walked out the door, heading for Cal's office. Loker and Torres watched her go.

"Man, she is one tough woman," Loker said wistfully and Torres nodded, picking up the file.

"Come on. Let's see what we can do with this." Loker looked up at her, his eyebrow raised in surprise.

"Are you kidding?" He pointed at the computer screen. "I want to see Lightman blow his top at the FBI." Torres scowled at him but then, realising that he wasn't going to give in, she sat down in the free seat next to him.

"Where's the popcorn?" she quipped.

OXOXOXO

Cal and Dillon were already threatening to come to blows when Gillian quietly let herself into his office.

"…you left her high and dry. She could have been killed!" Cal was standing on his side of the desk, arms outstretched. Dillon was standing on the other side, arms crossed over his chest, defensive.

"There was no evidence to suggest that Ms Foster would be a target…" he responded weakly. Gillian bit her lip.

"That's 'Doctor' Foster actually. And no evidence? Bloody hell, what's the first thing you do when you want to look someone up? Without your fancy FBI gadgetry now…" Dillon looked at a loss and Cal realised he probably never had to do the heavy slogging himself. He sighed exasperatedly.

"You google them you idiot. And if you google my name, eight out of every ten pictures of me is with her. For crying out loud, there is more evidence of me with Gill than there is of me with my ex-wife!" Dillon bowed his head, knowing he was beaten on this point. Cal Lighman was a terrier with his grip firmly on a bone of information and he wouldn't let it go until he'd rammed it down your throat.

"There'll be someone posted on her house from now until this is over…" Dillon replied weakly. Cal plonked back down in his chair. He had seen Gillian a minute earlier but hadn't pretended to

"Fat lot of good that is now. Come in darling," he waved his hand at her, signalling for her to come over to him. He pulled a chair out from by the wall and she settled herself into it, next to him. Her back and ribs hurt again but she had left her pills in her office. She saw the looks pass over Reynolds and Dillon's faces. She looked down, self conscious.

"Do you think you'd recognise the guys if you saw them again?" Reynolds asked, giving his AD a chance to regroup for probably another onslaught. Gillian shook her head.

"No. Cal asked me that earlier but no, I don't think I would. By the time I even knew someone had hit me I was seeing double…" she paused as his office door opened again and Zoe trotted in, an apologetic look on her face. Cal nodded to her and Gillian caught the look of recognition that passed between the two. Zoe spotted Gillian's face.

"Jesus Gillian, are you ok?" It occurred to Gillian how stupid a question that was considering her appearance but she said nothing. She smiled thinly and nodded her head.

"I'll be fine. It's mostly cuts and bruises." She looked back at Dillon, hoping he would be capable of having some form of conversation that would cut open the tension she had just sensed in the room.

Cal watched the interaction between the two women with great interest. Zoe had shown genuine concern but Gillian's lip had quirked only a miniscule twitch but he'd seen it none the less. He knew Gillian didn't trust him when Zoe was around, that was ok. But Gillian could read faces just as well as he could and she'd responded very defensively to a genuine statement of worry. Maybe the beating had affected her worse than originally thought. Maybe she didn't like that he had called Zoe to come by. But she surely appreciated the fact that this conversation was also about Emily right? He bit his lip and looked back at Dillon.

"There'll be someone at her house within an hour…" Dillon tried again.

"Yeah, you said that already." Cal jumped in, sitting up in his chair, elbows leaning on the desk. He introduced Zoe to Dillon and vice versa. She knew everyone else. Cal sat back in his chair again and cast a quick glance over at Gillian. She was sitting quietly. He could tell straight away that she was uncomfortable. Her back was hurting because her ribs were hurting. He caught her eye with his but she shook her head, urging him to continue. He turned back to Dillon.

"I want to know everything there is to know about Marco's gang. I want names, addresses, star signs, everything…" He was cut off by Dillon's snigger.

"Sure and when you're done with that, I'll tell you who killed Kennedy." He smirked at his joke but Cal wasn't laughing.

"Well you lot did," he said quickly, continuing, "I want to know what your operation surrounding this gang is. What you're doing to try getting them off the streets. Because it isn't working, is it?" Dillon crossed and uncrossed his leg in his seat, a look of amusement crossing his face.

"Now, why on earth would I tell you any of that?" Cal sat forward in his chair, voice low.

"Because if you have any hope of catching them, you're going to need me."

OXOXOXO

**A bit afraid of the ending of this one. Trails off a little but set to pick back up again soon. Think my last chapter got lost among the post Killer App fics so hopefully no one missed it!**


	24. Chapter 24

Dillon stifled a laugh across the desk. Gillian closed her eyes waiting for the inevitable outburst. Cal straightened in his chair.

"Sorry I don't see what's funny. My daughter was raped, my partner was assaulted, I could do with a good laugh if you feel like sharing," he said in a dangerous tone. Dillon shook his head.

"What do you possibly think you could do to help our operation?" Cal sat back in his chair, crossed one ankle over his knee, hands clasped in his lap. She bit back a smirk. He was in classic 'smug' pose, the kind he sat in when he knew something the opposition didn't.

"Well I could start by finding out who your mole is." Dillon looked up, lips pursed, eyes narrow. Cal grinned infuriatingly at him.

OXOXOXO

"How many men in your operation?" Cal asked, writing down a few details on a piece of paper in front of him.

"Twenty. Including Reynolds and myself." Cal looked up, eyebrow raised.

"That seems awfully small for someone trying to pull down a drugs empire."

"Cutbacks." Dillon said coldly and Cal raised his eyebrow even further, watching Dillon's face to see if he'd crack. And he did. Shame. That figured, he was sitting opposite a woman with half a blue face. There was something else though. Cal probed a little deeper.

"You didn't fight to keep your team?" Dillon shook his head.

"There was nothing I could do. We weren't getting results so we got axed." Cal stood up, his face scrunched in thought. He turned back to Dillon.

"What kind of team is it? Surveillance, file digging ,what?"

"Mostly surveillance. Why?" Dillon was beginning to wonder where Lightman was going with this. Sure he didn't like the guy. But if he could come up with something that would help them out, he couldn't over look it. Cal plonked back down in his chair.

"You can't just go in and say 'right, who's the mole?' Figuratively speaking. Whoever it is, you'll scare them off. And that'll tip off Gerardo's gang. You need to be completely transparent. So….you're getting a new technician for your surveillance. Someone who's constantly on the controls, watches everything. And everyone around him." Cal smirked happily. It was a simple plan but Dillon obviously knew he had a mole and hadn't come up with a flushing move yet so he was glad he'd beaten him to it. Reynolds frowned in the chair next to Dillon.

"That could work," he said simply. Dillon nodded.

"Not you though," he said to Cal who scratched his head and held a hand up drawing attention to himself.

"Let me put this in simple terms for you there Dillon. Me – lie detector. Face reader. Person who can tell if someone is trying to be something they're not. Who are you suggesting putting in there? Bugs Bunny?" Gillian sighed lightly next to him and he turned to look at her. She shook her head again. She hadn't opened her mouth since the FBI had arrived. He looked back at Dillon.

"People know who you are Lightman. We might as well advertise what we're doing if we send you in there…" Cal was about to speak but he realised that Dillon had a point. He looked at Ben.

"Did you learn nothing while you were here?" he asked, incredulous.

"Unlike you I don't base everything I do around the presumption that someone is lying." Cal raised his eyebrows, hand shooting out from his side.

"You work for the FBI and you presume no one's lying?" Gillian closed her eyes and cleared her throat, this time ready to speak. But just as she opened her mouth, she heard the voice from the doorway.

"What about me?"

OXOXOXO

**Oooh, who is it? As said before, making it up as I go so I have no idea how much more is left. If anyone gets bored throw something at me!**


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